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THE EASTERN NATIONS 
AND GREECE 



BY 



PHILIP VAN NESS MYERS 

FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE 

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI, AUTHOR OF "A HISTORY OF GREECE," 

"A GENERAL HISTORY," AND "HISTORY AS PAST ETHICS" 



SECOND REVISED EDITION 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 
ATLANTA • PALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO 



COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1917, BY -PHILIP VAN NESS MYERS 

ENTERED AT STATIONERS* HALL 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



3»7> 



:11b-'? 




:^l 13.17 



JEfte gtftenaenm j3rcag 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 

^C(,A4627'59 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND REVISED 
EDITION 

This little book is the first half of the second revised edition of the 
writer's Ancient History. Several of the original chapters have re- 
ceived important additions, and an entirely new chapter on the 
pre-Hellenic ^i^gean Civilization has been added. 

P. V. N. M. 
College Hill, Cincinnati 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. General Introduction : Prehistoric Times .... i 
II. Races and Groups of Peoples 17 



PART I. THE EASTERN PEOPLES 

III. Ancient Egypt. (From earliest times to 30 b.c.) .... 23 

I. Political History 23 

II. The Civilization 34 

IV. The Early City-kingdoms of Babylonia and the Old 

Babylonian Empire. (From earliest times to 728 b.c.) . 48 

I. Political History 48 

II. Arts and General Culture 53 

V. The Assyrian Empire. (From an unknown date to 606 b.c.) 64 

I. Political History 64 

II. The Civilization 69 

VI. The Chaldean Empire. (625-538 b.c.) 75 

VII. The Hebrews 79 

VIII. Phcenicians, Hittites, and Lydians 87 

I. The Phoenicians 87 

II. The Hittites 91 

III. The Lydians 93 

IX. The Persian Empire. (558-330 b.c.) 95 

I. Political History 95 

II. Government, Religion, and Arts lOO 

X. The East Asian Peoples 106 

I. India 106 

II. China no 



vi CONTENTS 

PART II. GREECE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XI. The Land and the People 114 

XII. Prehistoric Times according to Greek Accounts . i2t 

XIII. The y^GEAN Civilization 128 

XIV. The Heritage of the HisTORfc Greeks 140 

I. Political Institutions 1 40 

II. Religious Ideas and Institutions 143 

III. Language, Mythology, Literature, and Art 151 

XV. Early Sparta and the Peloponnesian League . . 154 

XVL The Age of Colonization and of Tyrannies . . 162 

I. The Age of Colonization. (About 750-600 B.C.) . . . 162 

II. The Tyrannies. (About 650-500 B.C.) 171 

XVII. The History of Athens up to the Persian Wars 177 
XVIII. Hellas Overshadowed by the Rise of Persia : 

Prelude to the Persian Wars 187 

XIX. The Persian Wars. (500-479 b.c.) 191 

XX. The Making of the Athenian Empire. (479-445 b. c.) 207 

XXI. The Age of Pericles. (445-431 b.c.) 212 

XXII. The Peloponnesian War; the Spartan and the 

Theban Supremacy 226 

I. The Peloponnesian War. (431-404 B.C.) 226 

II. The Spartan and the Theban Supremacy 240 

XXIII. The Greeks of Western Hellas. (413-336 b.c.) . . 248 

XXIV. The Rise of Macedonia: Reign of Philip II. (359- 

336 B.C.) 251 

XXV. Alexander the Great. (336-323 b.c.) 256 

XXVI. The GRiECO-ORiENTAL World from the Death of 
Alexander to the Conquest of Greece by the 

Romans. (323-146 b.c.) 266 

I. Hellenistic Culture 266 

II. Macedonia • 268 

III. Continental Greece 269 

IV. Rhodes 273 

V. Pergamum 274 

VI. The Syrian Kingdom 276 

VII. The Kingdom of the Ptolemies in Egypt 278 



CONTENTS vii 

CHAPTER HAGK 

XXVIl. Greek Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting . 283 

I. Architecture 284 

II. Sculpture 290 

III. Painting 298 

XXVIII. Greek Literature 302 

I. Introductory 302 

II. The Period before 475 B.c 303 

III. The Attic or Golden Age. {475-300 b. c.) . . . . 305 

IV. The Alexandrian Age. (300-146 B.C.) 314 

XXIX. Greek Philosophy and Science 317 

XXX. Social Life of the Greeks 329 

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 337 

INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 343 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

(After photographs, and from cuts taken from Baumeister's Denkmaeler des klassi- 
schen Alieiiiints, Oscar Jaeger's Weltgeschichie, Schreiber's Atlas of Classical Antiquities, 
and other reliable sources.) 

FIGURE PAGE 

1. Implements of the Old Stone Age 2 

2. Engraving of a Mammoth on the Fragment of a Tusk 3 

3. Engraving on a Reindeer Antler 3 

4. Wall Painting from the Cavern of Font-de-Gaume, France .... 4 

5. Implements of the New Stone Age 5 

6. A Prehistoric Egyptian Tomb 6 

7. Typical Megalithic or Huge Stone Monuments 7 

8. A Restoration of Swiss Lake Dwellings of the Later Stone Age . . S 

9. Primitive Methods of making Fire 9 

10. Indian Picture Writing 13 

11. Stonehenge 15 

12. Negro Captives 18 

13. Ploughing and Sowing 24 

14. Reaping the Grain 24 

15. Ivory Statuette of a King of the First Dynasty 26 

16. Khufu, Builder of the Great Pyramid 27 

17. The "Sheikh-el-beled" 28 

18. The Scribe 29 

19. Amenhotep IV and Family Bestowing Gifts 30 

20. Detail of Relief Portraying Victory of Rameses II over the Kheta 

at Kadesh, on the Orontes 31 

21. Phalanx of the Hittites 32 

22. Brick-Making in Ancient Egypt 33 

23. Forms of Egyptian Writing 35 

24. The Rosetta Stone 36 

25. Two Royal Names in Hieroglyphics 37 

26. Mummy of a Sacred Bull 38 

27. Profile of Rameses II 40 

28. Mummy Case with Mummy 41 

29. Servant for the Underworld 42 

30. The Judgment of the Dead 43 

31. An Egyptian Obelisk 44 

32. Tubular Drill Hole 45 

33. A Scarab Amulet 45 



X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE PAGE 

34. Ancient Babylonian Canal 49 

35. Impression of a Seal of Sargon I 51 

36. Door Socket of Sargon I 52 

37. Excavation showing Pavements in a Court of the Temple of Bel 

at Nippur 54 

38. Cuneiform Writing 55 

39. Table showing the Development of the Cuneiform Writing .... 55 

40. Babylonian Tablet 56 

41. Contract Tablet 56 

42. Diorite Seated Statue of Gudea, Ruler of Lagash (Shirpurla) ... 59 

43. Writing-exercise Tablets of a Child 60 

44. Hammurabi Receiving the Code from the Sun-god 61 

45. Restoration of Sargon's Palace at Khorsabad 66 

46. Transport of a Winged Bull 1 67 

47. An Assyrian Kelek 68 

48. An Assyrian King and his Captives 69 

49. Excavating an Assyrian Palace 70 

50. Emblem of Ashur, the Supreme Deity of Assyria 71 

51. Restoration of a Court in Sargon's Palace at Khorsabad 72 

52. Assyrians Flaying Prisoners Alive -j^ 

53. Lion Hunt 73 

54. Restoration of the Southern Citadel of Babylon 76 

55. Babylonian Lion 77 

56. The Place of 'Wailing 83 

57. The Later Temple at Jerusalem as Enlarged and Beautified by Herod 85 

58. Species of the Murex . . ; 87 

59. Phoenician Galley 88 

60. Table showing the Development of English Letters from the 

Phoenician 90 

61. The Hittite God of the Sky 91 

62. Caravan Crossing the Taurus 92 

63. Hittite Hieroglyphic Writing 92 

64. Croesus on the Pyre 96 

65. The Tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae 97 

66. Insurgent Captives brought before Darius 98 

67. Traces of the Royal Road of Darius 99 

68. The Behistun Rock 99 

69. Rock-cut Tomb of Darius I, near Persepolis ico 

70. Ancient Persian Fire-altars 102 

71. The King in Combat with a Monster Symbolizing Ahriman .... 103 

72. The Ruins of Persepolis 104 

73. Showing the Derivation of Modern Chinese Characters from 

Earher Pictorial W^riting 1 1 1 

74. Gallery in the South Wall at Tiryns 115 

75. The Plain of Olympia 116 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

FIGURE 1>A<;E 

76. The Labyrinth 122 

77. Theseus and the Minotaur . , 123 

78. The Lions' Gate at Mycenae 125 

79. Battle at the Ships between the Greeks and Trojans 126 

80. Hissarhk, the Probable Site of Ancient Troy 128 

81. Grave Circle at Mycenae 129 

82. Inlaid Sword Blades Found at Mycena; 130 

83. Great Magazines, or Storerooms, of the Palace at Cnossus . . . . 131 

84. Fresco of a Young Cup-bearer 132 

85. A Cnossian Seal Impression 133 

86. Theater and " Dancing-place " (?) Excavated at Cnossus by 

Dr. Evans 134 

87. Cretan Linear Tablet with Chariot and Horse 134 

88. The So-called " Throne of Minos " 135 

89. Group of Gods and Goddesses 144 

90. The Carrying off of Persephone by Hades to the Underworld; her 

Leave-taking of her Mother Demeter 145 

91. Apollo 146 

92. Greek Runners 147 

93. Racing with Four-horse Chariots 148 

94. Battle between Greeks and Amazons 152 

95. Sparta, with the Ranges of the Taygetus in the Background ■ . • 15S 

96. Ruined Temples at Paestum 168 

97. Coin of Cyrene 170 

98. Coin of Corinth 170 

99. The Bema, or Orator's Stand, on the Pnyx Hill, Athens .... 178 
100. The Athenian Tyrannicides, Harmodius and Aristogiton .... 183 
loi. Ostrakon with Name of Themistocles 197 

102. Hoplite, or Heavy-armed Greek Warrior 205 

103. A Memorial of the Battle of Plataea 206 

104. Pericles 213 

105. The So-called Theseum at Athens 218 

106. The Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheum 220 

107. Alcibiades 233 

108. Coin of Syracuse 249 

109. Demosthenes 253 

no. Alexander the Great 257 

111. The So-called Sarcophagus of Alexander 264 

112. The Dying Gaul 274 

113. A Restoration of the Great Altar of Zeus Soter at Pergamum . . 275 

114. Showing the Influence of the Master-form of the Pharos on the 

Evolution of the Moslem Minaret and the Christian Church 

Tower 280 

115. Orders of Greek Architecture 284 

116. The Parthenon 287 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE PAGE 

117. The Theater of Dionysus at Athens 289 

118. Stadium at Athens 290 

119. The Wrestlers 291 

120. Stele of Aristion 291 

121. The Charioteer 292 

122. Throwing the Discus, or Quoit 293 

123. Athenian Youth in Procession 294 

124. Athena Parthenos 295 

125. Head of the Olympian Zeus by Phidias 295 

126. Nike, or Victory, of Pasonius 296 

127. Hermes with the Infant Dionysus 297 

128. The Nike, or Victory, of Samothrace 298 

129. Aphrodite of Milos 298 

130. The Laocoon Group 299 

131. Portrait in Wax Paint 300 

132. Homer 303 

133. Hoeing and Ploughing 304 

134. Bacchic Procession 306 

135. Sophocles 308 

136. Euripides 309 

137. Herodotus 311 

138. Thucydides 312 

139. Socrates 321 

140. Plato 322 

141. Aristotle 323 

142. Pedagogue and Children 330 

143. A Greek School 331 

144. A Banquet Scene 333 



LIST OF PLATES 

PLATE PAGE 

I. The Parthenon. (A restoration ; in colors) Frontispiece 

II. Paintings on the Walls of Caverns, by the Hunter-Artists of the 

Old Stone Age. (After Breuil; in colors) 6 

III. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Gizeh. (From a photo- 

graph) 26 

IV. Ruins of the Great Hall of Columns at Karnak. (From a photo- 

graph) 30 

V. Fa9ade of Rock Temple at Ipsambul. (From a photograph) . . 34 
VI. A Restoration of the Hall of Columns at Karnak. (From Liibke, 

History of Art \ in colors) 42 

VII. "The Frieze of the Archers," from the Palace of Darius at Susa. 

{^h.iX.^xyi.Yy\t.\x\3.ioy,L''AcropoledeSuse; in colors) 102 

VIII. The Vaphio Cups and their Scrolls. (From photographs and 

drawings) 138 

IX. The Acropolis of Athens. (From a photograph) 178 

X. The Piraeus and the Long Walls of Athens. (A restoration) . . 210 

XI. A Restoration of the Acropolis of Athens 218 

XII. The Mourning Athena. (From a photograph) 228 

XIII. General View of Olympia. (A restoration) 286 



LIST OF MAPS 



Colored Maps 

(After Kiepert, Schrader, Droysen, Spruner-Sieglin, and Freeman. The Freeman 

charts have been so modified by omissions and additions that most of them as they 
here appear are virtually new maps.) ' 

PAGE 

The Ancient World, showing Areas occupied by Hamites, Semites, and 

Indo-Europeans i8 

Ancient Egypt 22 

Assyrian Empire, about 660 B.c 66 

Median and Babylonian Empires, about 600 B.c 78 

The Division of Solomon's Kingdom, about 953 B.c 82 

The Persian Empire at its Greatest Extent, about 500 B.c 98 

General Reference Map of Ancient Greece 114 

Greece and the Greek Colonies 162 

The Greek World at the Beginning of the Peloponnesian War, 431 B.C. 226 

Empire of Alexander the Great, about 323 b.c 258 

Sketch Maps 

The Tigris-Euphrates Valley . . . , 50 

The World according to Homer 143 

Magna Grascia and Sicily 167 

Plan of the Battle of Marathon 194 

Map Illustrating the Invasion of Greece by Xerxes 200 

Athens and Salamis 204 

Athens and her Long WalLs 210 

Pylos - . . 231 

March of the Ten Thousand Greeks 241 

Plan of the Battle of Leuctra, 371 b.c 244 



THE EASTERN NATIONS 
AND GREECE 

CHAPTER I 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION: PREHISTORIC TIMES 

1. The Prehistoric and the Historic Age. The immensely long 
periods of human life which lie back of the time when man began 
to keep written or graven records of events form what is called the 
Prehistoric Age. The comparatively few centuries of human experi- 
ence made known to us through such records comprise the Historic 
Age. In Egypt we find records which date from the fifth or fourth 
millennium B. c. ; so for that land the historic period begins six or 
seven thousand years ago. For Babylonia it begins several centuries 
later than for 'Egypt For the Mediterranean regions of Europe it 
opens about looo B.C.; for the countries of central and northern 
Europe, speaking broadly, not until about the beginning of our era ; 
and for the New World only a little over four hundred years ago. 

2. How we Learn about Prehistoric Man. A knowledge of what 
manner of man prehistoric man was and what he did is indispensable 
to the historical student ; for the dim prehistoric ages of human life 
form the childhood of the race — and the man cannot be understood 
without at least some knowledge of the child. 

But how, in the absence of written records, are we to find out 
anything about prehistoric man .-• In many ways we are able to learn 
much about him. First, by studying the life of present-day backward 
races ; for what they now are, the great races of history, we have 
reason to believe, were in their prehistoric age. 

Again, the men who lived before the dawn of history left behind 
them many things which witness as to what manner of men they 
were. In ancient gravel beds along the streams where they fished or 
hunted, in the caves which afforded them shelter, in the refuse heaps 



PREHISTORIC TIMES 



[§3 



(kitchen middens) on the sites of their villages or camping places, or 
in the graves where they laid away their dead, we find great quan- 
tities of tools and weapons and other articles shaped by their hands.-^ 
From these various things we learn what skill these early men had 
acquired as tool makers, what degree of culture they had attained, 
and something of their conception of the life in the hereafter. 




Fig. I. Implements of the Old Stone Age 

No. I, the core of a flint nodule, was the earliest and the characteristic tool and weapon 
of Paleolithic man. It served a variety of purposes, and was used without a handle, being 
clutched with the hand (No. 9), and hence is called the hand-ax or fist-ax. No. a is a 
flint flake struck from a nodule. No. 5 (a harpoon-point) tells us that the man of this 
age was a fisher as well as a hunter. From No. 6 (a bone needle) we may infer that he 
made clothing of skins, for since he had not yet learned the art of weaving (the spindle- 
whorl does not appear till the next epoch ; see Fig. 5 and explanatory note), the material 
of which he made clothing could hardly have been anything else than the skins of 
animals killed in the chase. That skins were carefully prepared is evidenced by the 
scraper (Nos. 4, //), an implement used in dressing hides. No. 7 (an engraving-tool) 
tells us that art had its beginnings in Paleolithic times 



3. Divisions of Prehistoric Times. The long period of prehistoric 
times is divided into different ages, or stages of culture, which are 
named frojn the material which man used in the manufacture of his 
weapons and tools. The earliest epoch is known as the Paleolithic or 
Old Stone Age ; the following one as the Neolithic or New Stone 

1 Besides these material things that can be seen and handled, there are many 
immaterial things — as, for instance, language, which is as full of human memories 
as the rocks are of fossils — that light up for us the dim ages before history (see 
sect. 10). 



§4] 



THE PALEOLITHIC OR OLD STONE AGE 




Age ; and the later period as the Age of Metals. The division lines 
between these ages are not sharply drawn. In most countries the 
epochs run into and overlap one another, just as in modern times the 
Age of Steam runs into and overlaps the Age of Electricity. 

4. The Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. In the Old Stone Age 
man's chief implements were usually made of stone, and especially 

of chipped flints, though 
bones, horns, tusks, and 
other material were also 
used in their manufacture. 
These rude implements and 
weapons of Paleolithic man, 
found mostly in river gravel 
beds and in caves, are the 
very oldest things in ex- 
istence which we know 
positively to have been shaped by human hands. 

The man of the Old Stone Age in Europe saw the retreating 
glaciers of the great Ice Age, of which geology tells us. Among the 
animals which lived with him on that continent (we know most of 
early man there) were the woolly-haired mammoth, the bison, the wild 
ox, the cave bear, the rhinoceros, the wild horse, and the reindeer 
— species which are no longer ^_____^_ ^.^.^_^. , . , 



Fig. 2. Engraving of a Mammoth on 

THE Fragment of a Tusk^ 

(Old Stone Age) 




Fig. 3. Engraving on a Reindeer 
Antler.i (Old Stone Age) 



found in the regions where 
primitive man hunted them. 
As the climate and the vege- 
tation changed, some of these 
animals became extinct, while 
others of the cold-loving 
species retreated up the mountains or migrated towards the north. 
What we know of Paleolithic man may be summed up as follows : 
he was a hunter and fisher ; his habitation was often merely a cave or 
a rock shelter ; his implements were in the main roughly shaped flints ; 

1 These interesting art objects are from France. They represent the earliest artistic 
efforts of man of which we have knowledge. In comparison with them the pictures on 
the oldest Egyptian monuments are modem. 




4 PREHISTORIC TIMES [4 

he had no domestic animals save possibly the dog ; he was ignorant 
of the arts of spinning and weaving, and practically also of the art 
of making pottery.^ 

The length of the Old Stone Age no one knows ; we do not attempt 
to reckon its duration by centuries or by millenniums even, but only 
by geologic epochs. But we do know that the long slow epochs did 
not pass away without some progress having been made by prime- 
val man, which assures us that though so lowly a creature, he was 
endowed with the capacity for growth and improvement. Before 

the end of the age he had 
acquired wonderful skill in 
the chipping of flint points 
and blades ; he had learned 
the use of fire, as we know 
from the traces of fire found 
in the places where he made 

his abode ; and he had prob- 
FiG. 4. Wall Painting from the 

Cavern OF Font-de-Gaume, France ably invented the bow and 
(After Breuil) arrow, as we find this weapon 

in very general use at the 
opening of the following epoch. This important invention gave man 
what was to be one of his chief weapons in the chase and in war 
for thousands of years — down to and even after the invention of 
firearms late in the historic period. 

But most prophetic of the great future of this savage or semisavage 
cave man of the Old Stone Age was the fine artistic talent that some 
tribes or races of the period possessed ; for, strange as it may seem, 
among the men of this epoch there were some amazingly good art- 
ists. Besides numerous specimens of his drawings and carvings of 
animals, chiefly on bone and ivory, which have been found from time to 
time during the last half century and more, there have recently been 
discovered many large drawings and paintings on the walls of various 
grottoes in southern France and northern Spain. ^ These wonderful 

1 The Australians and New Zealanders when first discovered were in the Paleolithic 
stage of culture ; the Tasmanians had not yet reached it. 

2 Xhe first of these wall paintings were discovered in 1879, but that they really 
were of the immense age claimed for them was not established beyond all doubt until 



§4] 



THE PALEOLITHIC OR OLD STONE AGE 



5 



pictures are in the main representations of animals. The species 
most often represented are the bison, the horse, — one species being 
like the Celtic pony of to-day, — the wild ox, the reindeer, and the 
mammoth. This astonishing art of the European cave men shows 
that primitive man, probably because he is a hunter and lives so close 
to the wild life around him, often has a keener eye for animal forms 
and movements than the artists of more advanced races ; for as a 




Fig. 5. Implements of the New Stone Age 

These tools and weapons mark a great advance over the chipped flints of the Old 
Stone Age (Fig. 1). They embody the results of thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) 
of years of human experience and invention, and mark the first steps in human progress. 
Nos. i-s and y-io show how after unmeasured ages man had learned to increase the 
effectiveness of his tools and weapons by grinding them smooth and sharp, and by 
fitting handles to them. No. j records the incoming of the art of making pottery — one 
of the most important industrial arts prior to the Age of Iron. No. 6 (a spindle-whorl 
of stone or of hardened clay used as a weight in twisting thread) informs us that man 
had learned the civilizing arts of spinning and weaving 

high authority asserts, " in some respects the art of these hunter 
painters has never been surpassed or even equaled." The history of 
art (sculpture, engraving, and painting) must hereafter begin with the 
works of these artist hunters of the Paleolithic time.^ 



1902 (see Cartailhac et Breuil, La Cavcrnc (f Altmmra, 1906 ; and Perony, La Cavcrnc 
dc Font-dc-Gaumc , 1910). The pictures are generally found in the depths of caverns 
where not a ray of the light of day ever enters. They were made by the light of lamps 
fed with the fat of animals. It is almost certain that they had a magical purpose, that 
is, were made in the belief that by a species of magic they would cause an increase of 
the game animals represented, or would render them a sure prey in the chase. 

1 See Reinach, Apollo (1900), chap, i; also Art. " Painting," Encyc. Brit., nth ed. 



PREHISTORIC TIMES 






5. The Neolithic or New Stone Age. The Old Stone Age was 
followed by the New.^ Chipped or hammered stone implements 
still continued to be used, but what characterizes this period was 
the use of ground or polished implements. Man had learned the 
art of grinding his tools and weapons to a sharp edge with sand 
on a grinding stone.^ To his ax he had 
also learned to attach a handle, which 
made it a vastly more effective implement 

(Fig. 5)- 

Besides these improvements in his tools 
and weapons, the man of the New Stone 
Age had made other great advances be- 
yond the man of the Old Stone Age. He 
had learned to till the soil ; he had learned 
to make fine pottery, to spin, and to weave ; 
he had domesticated various wild animals ; 
though like Paleolithic man he sometimes 
lived in caves, he built houses, often on 
piles on the margins of lakes and morasses 
(Fig. 8) ; and he buried his dead in such 
a manner — with accompanying gifts 
(Fig. 6) — as to show that he had a firm 
belief in a future life.^ 

The later period of this New Stone Age 
was marked by the beginnings of architec- 
ture. In many regions, particularly in west- 
ern Europe, the men of this age began to 
construct rude tombs and other monuments of huge undressed 
stones — often of blocks so immense that it must have required the 




Fig. 6. A Prehistoric 

Egyptian Tomb 

(After/, de MoTgan) 

Primitive man's belief in a fu- 
ture life led him to place in the 
grave of the deceased weapons, 
implements, food, and articles 
of personal adornment for use 
in the other world (cf. sects. 
37-40). Outfits of this kind 
found in prehistoric graves 
are an important source of 
our knowledge of man before 
recorded history begins 



1 Some archaeologists put a period, which they name the Middle Stone Age, between 
the Paleolithic and the Neolithic Age. Most, however, consider this period merely 
a subdivision of the Old Stone Age. 

2 The North American Indians were in this stage of culture at the time of the dis- 
covery of the New World. The Egyptians and Babylonians were just emerging from 
it when they first appeared in history. 

3 Recent discoveries have revealed traces of this belief even before the close of the 
Paleolithic period. Several cases of burial have been found with rich grave outfits of 
flint implements and weapons, which point unmistakably to a belief in a life after death. 



i 









Plate II. Ri:mark.\1!I.k Paintings on the Walls ok Caverns, i;v the 
Hunter-Artists of the Old Stone Age. (After Breuil ; see p. 4, n. 2) 



§6] 



THE AGE OF METALS 



united strength of a thousand or more men to haul them and to 
set them up. The most common forms of these monuments are 
shown in the accompanying cut (F4g. 7). 

The Neolithic stage of culture lasted several thousand years — the 
length of the period varying of course in the different lands — and 
was widespread. The relics of Neolithic man are found on all the 
continents. In Egypt, in Babylonia, in Greece, in Italy, and in other 




Fig. 7. Typical Megalithic or Huge Stone Monuments 

A single stone (No. /) is called a menhir, and a large stone resting on smaller ones 
(No. 2) a dolmen. Prehistoric stone monuments of these and other types are found in 
almost all parts of the world, but in especially great numbers in western Europe and 
North Africa. The oldest of these monuments date from the later Stone Age. They 
doubtless served various purposes. Some were the tombs of great persons, some were 
man's first temples, others marked sacred spots, and still others were probably erected 
to preserve the memory of great events 



lands the historic development grew directly out of this Stone Age 
culture. It thus formed the basis of the civilizations of all the great 
peoples of the ancient world. 

6. The Age of Metals. Finally the long ages of stone passed into 
the Age of Metals. This age falls into three subdivisions — the Age 
of Copper, the Age of Bronze, and the Age of Iron. Some peoples, 
like the African negroes, passed directly from the use of stone to the 
use of iron ; but in most of the countries of the Orient and of Europe 
the three metals came into use one after the other and in the order 
named. Speaking broadly, we may say that the Age of Metals began 



8 



PREHISTORIC TIMES 



L§6 



for the more advanced peoples of the ancient world between 3000 
and 4000 B.c.^ 

The history of metals has been declared to be the history of civili- 
zation. Indeed, it would be almost impossible to overestimate their 
importance to man. Man could do very little with stone implements 




Fig. 8. A Restor.4.tion of Swiss Lake Dwellings of the Later Stone 
Age. (From Keller, Lake Dwellings) 

This mode of building on piles in the shallow water of lakes, begun (as a means of 

protection against enemies) by the men of Neolithic times, was continued far into 

the Bronze Age, as proved by the bronze objects found in the mud on the sites of 

ancient pile-villages in Switzerland and elsewhere 

compared with what he could do with metal implements. It was a great 
labor for primitive man, even with the aid of fire, to fell a tree with a 
stone ax and to hollow out the trunk for a boat. He was hampered 

1 The limited use of copper seems to have begun among the peoples of the Orient 
some centuries before this date — in Egypt about 3500 B.C. But copper is a soft metal, 
and tools and weapons made of it were not so greatly superior to the stone ones then in 
use as to put them out of service. But either by accident or through experiment it was 
discovered that by mixing about nine parts of copper with one part of tin a new metal, 
called bronze, much harder than either tin or copper, could be made. So greatly superior 
were bronze implements to stone that their introduction caused the use of stone for 
tools and weapons to be practically discontinued, and consequently the Age of Bronze 
constitutes a well-defined and important epoch in the history of culture. 



§7] THE DOMESTICATION OF FIRE 9 

in all his tasks by the rudeness of his tools. It was only as the bearer 
of metal implements and weapons that he began really to subdue the 
earth and to get dominion over nature. All the higher cultures of the 
ancient world with which history begins were based on the knowledge 
and use of metals. 

7. The Domestication of Fire. In this and the immediately follow- 
ing sections we shall dwell briefly upon some of the special discoveries 
and achievements, several of which have already been mentioned, 
marking important steps in man's progress during the prehistoric ages. 




Fig. 9. Primitive Methods ok making Fire. (After Tylor) 

Doubtless the discovery that fire could be produced by friction came about through 
the operation of the primitive toohnaker. The processes of smoothing, polishing, and 
grooving softwood implements, and of boring holes in them with pieces of harder wood, 
could hardly fail of revealing the secret. The character of the fire-making devices of 
present-day savages point the way of the discovery 

Prominent among the achievements of early man was the domesti- 
cation of fire. The origin of the use of fire is hidden in the obscur- 
ity of primeval times. That fire was known to Paleolithic man we 
learn, as already noted, from the traces of it discovered in the caves 
and rock shelters which were his abode. No people has ever been 
found so low in the scale of culture as to be without it. 

As to the way in which early man came into possession of fire, we 
have no knowledge. Possibly he kindled his first fire from a glowing 
lava stream or from some burning tree trunk set aflame by the light- 
ning.^ However this may be, he had in the earliest times learned to 
produce the vital spark by means of friction. The fire borer, accord- 
ing to Tylor, is among the oldest of human inventions. Since the 

1 Fires thus lighted are surprisingly numerous. During the year 1914 there were 
over 2000 fires started by lightning in the national forests of the United States. 



lO PREHISTORIC TIMES [§8 

awakening of the spark was difficult, the fire once alight was carefully 
fed so that it should not go out. The duty of watching the flame 
naturally fell to the old women or to the daughters of the community, 
to which custom may be traced the origin of such institutions as that 
among the Romans of the vestal virgins, the guardians of the sacred 
flame on the hearth of the goddess Vesta. 

Only gradually did primeval man learn the various properties of 
fire and discover the different uses to which it might be put, just as 
historic man has learned only gradually the possible uses of electricity. 
By some happy accident or discovery he learned that it would harden 
clay, and he became a potter ; that it would smelt ores, and he became 
a worker in metals ; and that it would aid him in a hundred other 
ways. " Fire," says Joly, " presided at the birth of nearly every art, 
or quickened its progress." The place it holds in the development of 
the family, of religion, and of the industrial arts is revealed by these 
three significant words — " the hearth, the altar, the forge." No other 
agent has contributed more to the progress of civilization. Indeed, it 
is difficult to conceive how without fire primitive man could ever have 
emerged from the Age of Stone. 

8. The Domestication of Animals. "■ When we visit a farm at the 
present day and observe the friendly nature of the life which goes on 
there, — the horse proudly and obediently bending his neck to his 
yoke ; the cow offering her streaming udder to the milkmaid ; the 
woolly flock going forth to the field, accompanied by their trusty pro- 
tector, the dog, who comes fawning to his master, — this familiar 
intercourse between man and beast seems so natural that it is 
scarcely conceivable that things may once have been different. And 
yet in the picture we see only the final result of thousands and 
thousands of years of the work of civilization, the enormous impor- 
tance of which simply escapes our notice because it is by everyday 
wonders that our amazement is least excited." ^ 

The most of this work of inducing the animals of the fields and 
woods to become, as it were, members or dependents of the human 
family, to enter into a league of friendship with man and to become 
his helpers, was done by prehistoric man. When man appears in 

•I Schrader, Prehistoric Aniiguities of the Aryan Peoples (1890), p. 259. 



§9] THE DOMESTICATION OF PLANTS II 

history, he appears surrounded by almost all the domestic animals 
known to us to-day. The dog was already his faithful companion — 
and probably the first won from among the wild creatures ; the 
sheep, the cow, and the goat shared his shelter with him.^ 

The domestication of animals had such a profound effect upon 
human life and occupation that it marks the opening of a new epoch 
in history. The hunter became a shepherd,^ and the hunting stage 
in culture gave place to the pastoral.^ 

9. The Domestication of Plants. Long before the dawn of history 
those peoples of the Old World who were to play great parts in early 
historic times had advanced from the pastoral to the agricultural stage 
of culture. Just as the step from the hunting to the pastoral stage 
had been taken with the aid of a few of the most social species of 
animals, so had this second upward step, from the pastoral to the 
agricultural stage, been taken by means of the domestication of a few 
of the innumerable species of the seed grasses and plants growing 
wild in field and wood. 

Wheat and barley, two of the most important of the cereals, were 
probably first domesticated somewhere in Asia, and from there carried 
over Europe, These grains, together with oats and rice, have been, 
in the words of Tylor, " the mainstay of human life and the great 
moving power of civilization." They constituted the basis of the 
earliest great states and civilizations of Asia and Europe. 

The domestication of plants and the art of tilling the soil effected 
a great revolution in prehistoric society. The wandering life of the 
hunter and the herder now gave way to a settled mode of existence. 
Cities were built, and within them began to be amassed those 

1 The task, still unfinished, of the historic period has been not so much to increase 
the number as to improve the breed of the stock of domesticated animals bequeathed 
from the prehistoric time. 

2 In some regions favored in climate and soil the farmer preceded the shepherd, but 
agriculture upon a large scale could hardly be carried on until man had domesticated 
the ox and the ass and taught them to draw the plough. 

3 It is of interest to note that most of the wild stocks whence have come our domestic 
animals are of Old World origin. It is thought by some that one reason why the tribes 
of the New World at the time of its discovery were so far behind the peoples of the Old 
was that there were fewer tamable animals here — none of real importance save the 
llama and the alpaca in the Andean uplands of South America and possibly the buffalo 
of North America. 



12 PREHISTORIC TIMES [§10 

treasures, material and immaterial, which constitute the precious 
heirloom of humanity. This attachment to the soil of the hitherto 
roving clans and tribes meant also the beginning of political life. The 
cities were united into states and great kingdoms were formed, and 
the political history of man began, as in the valleys of the Nile 
and the Euphrates. 

Early man seems to have realized how much he owed to the art of 
husbandry, for in the mythologies of many peoples some god or god- 
dess is represented as having taught men how to till the soil and to 
plant the seed. It seemed to man that for so great a boon he must 
be beholden to the beneficence of the gods.-' 

10. The Formation of Language. Another great task and achieve- 
ment of primitive man was the making of language. The earliest 
speech used by historic man, as Tylor observes, " teaches the inter- 
esting lesson that the main work of language-making was done in the 
ages before history." 

The vastness of this work is indicated by the languages with which 
history begins, fOr language-making, particularly in its earliest stages, 
is a very slow process. Periods of time like geologic epochs must have 
been required for the formation out of the scanty speech of the first 
men, by the slow process of word-making, of the rich and polished 
languages already upon the lips of the great peoples of antiquity 
when they first appear in the light of history. 

We need not dwell upon the inestimable value to man of the 
acquisition of language. Without it all his other acquisitions and 
discoveries would have remained comparatively fruitless, all his ef- 
forts to lift himself to higher levels of culture have been unavailing. 



1 So thorough was prehistoric man's search for whatever in the plant world could be 
cultivated for food, that historic man has not been able during the last 2000 years from 
the tens of thousands of wild plants to discover any species comparable in value to any 
one of the staple food-plants selected and domesticated by primeval man (De Candolle, 
Origin of Cultivated Plants, p. 451). It is interesting further to note that while early 
man exploited the organic kingdoms, that is to say, the animal and vegetable realms, he 
made few and slight requisitions upon the forces of the inorganic world. It was reserved 
for the men of the later historic age — for the ancient civilizations have to their credit 
no epoch-making achievements here — to domesticate, so to speak, the powerful agents 
steam and electricity and through their utilization to effect revolutions in modem society 
like those effected in prehistoric times by the domestication of animals and plants. 



§11] THE INVENTION OF WRITING 13 

Without it, so far as we can see, he must have remained forever 
in an unprogressive and savage or semisavage state. 

11. The Invention of Writing. Still another achievement of pre- 
historic man, and after the making of language perhaps his greatest, 
certainly the most fruitful, was the invention of writing — the perfec- 
tion of which marks the opening of historic times. 

The first form of writing used by primitive man was picture writ- 
ing, such as was and is still used by some of the Indian tribes of 
the New World. In this system of writing the characters are rude 
pictures of material objects, as, for instance, a picture of an eye <2>- 
to indicate the organ of sight ; or they are symbols of ideas, as, for 

Fig. 10. Indian Picture Writing. (After Mallcry-Deniker) 

Record of an Alaskan hunt. It reads thus : I go, by boat (indicated by paddle) ; 

sleep one night (hand to side of head denotes sleep), on island with two huts ; I go to 

another island ; two sleeps there ; hunt with harpoon, sea lion ; also with bow ; return 

by boat with companion (indicated by two paddles), to my lodge 

illustration, a picture consisting of wavy lines beneath an arc represent- 
ing the sky C^^ to indicate rain. This way of representing ideas, 
which seems »>>>> natural to man, is known as ideographic writing, 
and the signs are called ideograms. 

A great step in advance is taken when the picture writer uses his 
pictures or symbols to represent not actual objects or ideas, but 
sounds of the human voice, that is, words. This step was taken in 
prehistoric times by different peoples — the Egyptians, the Baby- 
lonians, and the Chinese — independently. It seems to have been 
taken by means of the rebus, a mode of writing which children love 
to employ. What makes rebus writing possible is the existence in 
every language of words having the same sound but different mean- 
ings. Thus in English the pronoun / is sounded like the word eye, 
and the word reign, to rule, like the word rain. Now the picture 
writer, wishing to express the idea / reign, could do so by the use 
of the two pictures or ideograms given above, in this way, <s>- i^rowJ. 
When so used, the ideogram becomes a phonogram, and the »»>> 



14 PREHISTORIC TIMES [§11 

writing is phonetic or sound writing. In this way the chasm between 
picture writing and sound writing is bridged, and the most difficult step 
taken in the development of a practical system of representing thought. 

In the first stage of sound writing, each picture or symbol stands 
for a whole word. In such a system as this there must of course 
be as many characters or signs as there are words in the language 
represented. In working out their system of writing the Chinese 
stuck fast at this point (sect. 122). 

Two additional steps beyond this stage are required in order to 
perfect the system. The first of these is taken when the characters 
are used to represent syllables instead of words. This reduces at 
once the number of signs needed from many thousands to a few 
hundreds, since the words of any given language are formed by 
the combination of a comparatively small number of syllables. With 
between four and five hundred symbols the ancient Babylonians and 
Assyrians, who used this form of writing, were able to represent all 
the words of their respective languages (sect. 52). Characters or 
symbols used to represent syllables are called syllabic phonograms, 
and a collection of such signs is called a syllabary. 

While a collection of syllabic signs is a great improvement over 
a collection of word signs, still it is a clumsy instrument for express- 
ing ideas, and the system requires still further simplification. This is 
done and the final step in developing a convenient system of writing 
is taken when the symbols are used to represent not syllables but 
elementary sounds of the human voice, of which there are only a 
few — a score or two — in any language. Then the symbols become 
true letters, a complete collection of which is called an alphabet, 
and the mode of writing alphabetic. 

When and where this final step was taken we do not know. But 
soon after 900 B.C. we find several Semitic peoples of western Asia 
in possession of an alphabet. Through various agencies, particularly 
through the agency of trade and commerce, this alphabet was spread 
east and west and thus became the parent of all but one ^ of the 
alphabets employed by the peoples of the ancient world of history, 
and of every alphabet in use on the earth to-day (sect. 95). 

1 See p. 56, n. i. 



§12] 



THE GREAT BEQUEST 



15 



12. The Great Bequest. We of this twentieth century esteem our- 
selves fortunate in being the heirs of a noble heritage — the in- 
heritors of the precious accumulations of all the past centuries of 
history. We are not used »to thinking of the men of the first genera- 
tion of historic times as also the heirs of a great legacy. But even 
the scanty review we have made of what was discovered, invented, 
and thought out by man during the unmeasured epochs before re- 
corded history opens cannot fail to have impressed us with the fact 
that a vast estate was transmitted by prehistoric to historic man. 




Fig. II. Stonehenge. (From a photograph) 

This imposing huge stone monument on Salisbury Plain, England, probably dates from 

about the end in western Europe of the New Stone Age or from the beginning of the 

Bronze Age (between 1500 and 2000 B.C.). Some archaeologists regard the structure as 

a sepulchral monument ; others suppose it to have been a shrine for sun-worship 

If our hasty glance at those far-away times has done nothing more 
than to do this, then we shall never again regard history quite as 
may have been our wont. We shall see everything in a new light. 
We shall see the story of man to be more wonderful than we once 
thought, the path which he has followed to be longer and more 
toilsome than we before imagined. 

But our interest in the traveler will have been deepened through 
our knowing something of his early hard and narrow life, and of his 
first painful steps in the path of civilization. We shall follow with 
deeper interest and sympathy this wonderful being, child of earth 
and child of heaven, this heir of all the ages, as he journeys on and 
upward with his face toward the light. 



I6 PREHISTORIC TIMES 

References. Osborn,i Men of the Old Stone Age (" The most important 
work on the evolution of our own species that has appeared since Darwin's 
' Descent of Man.' " — Theodore Roosevelt). Sollas, Ancient Hunters. Myre, 
The Dawn of Ilistoiy. Hoernes, Primitive Man. Elliot, Prehistoric Man 
and his Story. Joly, Man before Metals. Keary, The Dawn of History. 
Starr, Some First Steps in Human Progress. Tylor, Anthropology, chaps, iv, 
vii, "Language" and "Writing"; Primitive Culture, 2 vols. Lubbock, Pre- 
historic Times. Mason, First Steps in HtiTnan Culture and The Origin of Inven- 
tion. Davenport, Do7nesticated Animals and Pla?tts. Shaler, Domesticated 
Aitimals. HOFFMANN, The Begijtnings of Writing. Clodd, The Story of the 
Alphabet. Taylor, The Alphabet, 2 vols. Fergusson, Rtide Stone Monuments. 
Holbrook, Cave, Mound, and Lake Diuellers (juvenile). 

Topics for Class Reports. 1. The relation of domesticated animals to man's 
advance in civilization: Shaler, Domesticated Aftimals, pp. 103-151 ; Daven- 
port, Domesticated Animals and Plants, chap. i. 2. The making and the use 
of fire : Mason, The Oj-igin of Invention, chap, iii, and First Steps in Human 
Culture, chaps, i, ii; Frobenius, The Childhood of Alan, chap, xxvii. 3. The 
origin of writing: Hoffmann, The Beginnings of Writing; Mason, First Steps 
in Hicman Culture, chap, xxi ; Tylor, Anthropology, chap, vii ; Keary, The 
Dawn of History, chaps, xii, xiii. 4. The dawn of art : Reinach, Apollo, 
pp. 1-9 ; Parkyn, Introduction to the Study of Prehistoric Art, chaps, iii, iv. 
5. How the great stones were moved : Frobenius, The Childhood of Man, 
pp. 428-429. 6. Marett, Anthropology, chap, ii, "Antiquity of Man." 

1 For full names of authors and further information concerning works cited, see list 
at end of book. 



CHAPTER II 

RACES AND GROUPS OF PEOPLES 

13. Subdivisions of the Historic Age. We begin now our study of 
the Historic Age — a record of about six or seven thousand years. 
The story of these millenniums is usually divided into three parts — 
Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modem History. Ancient History begins, 
as already indicated, vi^ith the earliest peoples of which we can gain 
any certain knowledge through written records, and extends to the 
break-up of the Roman Empire in the West, in the fifth century a. d. 
Mediaeval History embraces the period, the so-called Middle Ages, 
about one thousand years in length, lying between the fall of Rome 
and the discovery of the New World by Columbus, 1492 a.d. 
Modern History commences with the close of the mediaeval period 
and extends to the present time.^ It is Ancient History alone with 
which we shall be concerned in the present volume. 

14. The Races of Mankind in the Historic Period. Distinctions 
mainly in bodily characteristics, such as form, color, and features, 
divide the human species into many types or races, of which the 
three chief are known as the Black or Ethiopian Race, the Yellow 
or Mongolian Race, and the White or Caucasian Race.'^ But we 
must not suppose each of these three types to be sharply marked 
off from the others ; they shade into one another by insensible gra- 
dations. There is a great number of intermediate types or subraces. 

1 It is thought preferable by some scholars to let the decisive beginning of the 
great Teutonic migration (376 A. D.), or the restoration of the Empire by Charlemagne 
(800 A.D.), mark the end of the period of Ancient History, and to call all after that 
Modem History. Some also prefer to date the beginning of the modem period from the 
capture of Constantinople by the Turks (1453 a.d.) ; while still others speak of it in a 
general way as commencing about the close of the fifteenth century, at which time there 
were many inventions and discoveries, and great movements in the intellectual world. 

2 The classification given is simply a convenient and practical one (see table, p. 22). 
It disregards various minor groups of uncertain ethnic relationship. 

EN 17 



RACES AND GROUPS OF PEOPLES 



[§15 




We assume the original unity of the human race. It is probable 
that the physical and mental differences of existing races arose 
through their ancestors having been subjected to different climatic 
influences and to different conditions of life through long periods 
of prehistoric time. There has been no perceptible change in the 
great types of mankind during the historic period. The paintings 
upon the oldest Egyptian monuments show us that at the dawn 
of history the principal races were as distinctly marked as now, 

each bearing its racial badge of color and 

physiognomy. 

15. The Black Race. Africa south of 
the Sahara is the true home of the typical 
folk (the negroes) of the Black Race, but 
we find them on all the other continents 
and on many of the islands of the seas, 
whither they have migrated or been car- 
ried as slaves by the stronger races ; for 
since time immemorial they have been 
" hewers of wood and drawers of water " 
for their more favored brethren. 

16. The Yellow or Mongolian Race. 
Eastern and northern Asia is the central 

seat of the Mongolian Race. Many of the Mongolian tribes are 
pastoral nomads, who roam over the vast Asian plains north of the 
great ranges of the Himalayas ; their leading part in history has 
been to harass peoples of settled habits. 

But the most important peoples of this type are the Japanese and 
the Chinese. The latter constitute probably a fifth or more of the en- 
tire population of the earth. Already in times very remote this people 
had developed a civilization quite advanced on various lines, but hav- 
ing reached a certain, stage in culture they did not continue to make 
so marked a progress. Not until recent times did either the Chinese 
or the Japanese become a factor of significance in world history. 

17. The White or Caucasian Race and its Three Groups. The so- 
called White or Caucasian Race embraces almost all of the historic 
nations. Its chief peoples fall into three groups — the Hamitic, the 



Fig. 12. Negro Captives 

(From the monuments of 

Thebes) 

Illustrating the permanence of 
race characteristics 



/A^i;' i-' 




■'•0 East from 60 Gieeuwk-h 



§ 17] THE WHITE OR CAUCASIAN RACE I9 

Semitic, and the Indo-European or Aryan. ^ The members forming 
any one of these groups must not be looked upon as kindred in 
blood ; the only certain bond uniting the peoples of each group is 
the bond of language. 

The ancient Egyptians were the most remarkable people of the 
Hamitic branch. In the gray dawn of history we discover them already 
settled in the valley of the Nile, and there erecting great monuments 
so faultless in construction as to render it certain that those who 
planned them had had long previous training in the art of building. 

The Semitic family includes among its chief peoples the ancient 
Babylonians and Assyrians, the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, the 
Aramaeans, the Arabians, and the Abyssinians. Most scholars re- 
gard Arabia as the original home of this family, and this peninsula 
certainly seems to have been the great distributing center. 

It is interesting to note that three great monotheistic religions 
(that is, religions teaching the doctrine of one god) — the Hebrew, 
the Christian, and the Mohammedan — arose among peoples be- 
longing to the Semitic family. 

The peoples of Indo-European speech form the most widely dis- 
persed group of the White Race. They include the ancient Greeks 
and Romans, all the peoples of modern Europe (save the Basques, 
the Finns and Lapps, the Magyars or Hungarians, and the Turks), 
together with the Persians, the Hindus, and some other Asian peoples.^ 

1 The application of the name Aryan is by some historians restricted to the Indo- 
Iranian branch (Hindus and Persians) of the Indo-European peoples. The term, 
however, has been long and generally used as the equivalent of Indo-European or 
Indo-Germanic (cf. Schrader, The Prehistoric Civilizaiion of the Aryan Peoples \ Taylor, 
The Origin of the Aryafis, etc.), and is still very commonly used in the same sense by 
easeful scholars of the highest authority. It should be carefully noted that where the 
term Indo-European is applied to a people it simply means that the people thus desig- 
nated use an Indo-European language, and that it does not mean that they are related 
by blood to any other people of Indo-European speech. Physical or racial relationships 
cannot be determined by the test of language. Think of the millions of English- 
speaking African negroes in the United States I For a masterly discussion of the 
question of the ethnic types or races making up the population of Europe, see Ripley, 
The Races of Europe. 

2 The kinship in speech of all these peoples is most plainly shown by the similar 
form and meaning of certain words in their different languages, as, for example, the 
word father, which occurs with but little change in several of the Arj'an tongues 
(Sanscrit, //VW ; Persian, /ai/ar ; Greek, irax'^p ; hatin, /aier ; German, Vaier). 



20 RACES AND GROUPS OF PEOPLES [§18 

18. The Indo-European or Aryan Expansion. Long before the 
dawn of history in Europe, the clans and tribes of the hitherto 
undivided Indo-European family began to break up and to push 
themselves among older and more civilized peoples. They came 
probably from the steppe lands of central Asia.^ 

Some of these tribes in the course of their wanderings found 
their way out upon the table-lands of Iran and into the great river 
plains of India. They subjugated the aborigines of these lands and 
communicated to them their language. These Aryan invaders and 
the natives, thus Aryanized in speech and probably somewhat 
changed in blood, became the progenitors of the Persians and the 
Hindus of history.'^ 

Other tribes of the family, either through peaceful expansion, 
through social relations, or through conquest, had in times still pre- 
historic made Indo-European in speech, though probably very par- 
tially so in blood, the native pre-Aryan peoples of almost every 
part of Europe.^ 

1 Some scholars have sought the early home of the primitive Arj'an community in 
southern Russia, others in the Baltic regions of Europe, and still others in central 
Asia in the region of the Oxus. The recent discovery (1907-1908) in East Turkestan 
of documents dating from about 500 A.D., and written in an Indo-Germanic language 
related to those of western pMropc, gives probability to the opinion that the cradle of 
the Indo-Germanic folk was the high grasslands of central Asia north of the great 
Asian mountain zone. See Eduard Meyer, Gcschichte des Altei-twns, I 2, 891, 3. Aufl. 

- It is very important to note that in every case where a people of non-Aryan speech 
gave up their own language and adopted that of their Aryan (Indo-Germanic) con- 
querors, there must have taken place at the same time almost necessarily a mingling 
of the blood of the two races. " Thus it will be correct to say that an Aryan strain per- 
meates all or most of the groups now speaking Aryan tongues." — Keane, Ethnology 
(Cambridge Geographical Series, 1896), p. 396. 

8 This prehistoric Indo-European expansion can best be made plain by the use of 
an historical parallel — the Roman expansion. From their cradle city on the Tiber, the 
ancient Romans — a folk Indo-European in speech if not in race — went out as con- 
querors and colonizers of the Mediterranean world. Wherever they went they carried 
their language and their civilization with them. Many of the peoples whom they sub- 
jected gave up their own speech, and along with the civilization of their conquerors 
adopted also their language. In this way a large part of the ancient world became 
Romanized in speech and culture. When the Roman Empire broke up, there arose 
a number of Latin-speaking nations — among these, the French, Spaniards, and Portu- 
guese. During the modem age these Romanized nations, through conquest and colo- 
nization, have spread their Latin speech and civilization over a great part of the New 
World. Thus it has come about that to-day the language of the ancient Romans, differ- 
entiated into many dialects, is spoken by peoples spread over the earth from Rumania 



§18] THE INDO-EUROPEAN EXPANSION 21 

Although the Indo-European expansion movement began so long 
ago, probably in the third millennium B.C., still we should not think 
of it as something past and ended. The outward movement in 
modern times of the peoples of Europe, that is to say, the expan- 
sion of Europe into Greater Europe and the Europeanizing of the 
world, is merely the continuation in the light of history of the earlier 
Indo-European expansion which went on in the obscurity of the 
prehistoric ages. 

Thus we see what leading parts, after what we may call the 
Semitic Age, peoples of Indo-European speech have borne in the 
great drama of history. 

References. Ripley, The Races of Europe. Keane, Ethnology and Mart, 
Past and Present. Deniker, The Races of Man. Sergi, The Alediterranean 
Race. Ratzel, The History of Mankind, zvo\%. \\.^\TYi., Attcieni Types of Man. 
Brinton, Races and Peoples. Taylor, The Origitt of the Aryans. Schrader, 
The Prehistoric Civilization of the Aryan Peoples. 



in eastern Europe to Chile in South America. All these peoples we call Latins, not 
because they are all descended from the ancient Romans, — in fact they belong to 
many different ethnic stocks, — but because they all speak languages derived from 
the old Roman speech. Just as we use the term Latin here, so do we use the term 
Indo-European in connection with the peoples of Indo-European speech. 



22 



RACES AND GROUPS OF PEOPLES 



A WORKING CLASSIFICATION OF THE TRINCIPAL 
RACES AND PEOPLES 



The larger divisions (races) are based on physical characteristics, the subdivisions of the 
White Race are based on language 



Black Race 
(Ethiopian or 
Negro) 



Yellow Rack 
(Mongolian) 



White Race 
(Caucasian) 



Hamites 



Semites 



Tribes and peoples whose true home is central and 
southern Africa. 

(i) The Chinese, Japanese, and kindred peoples of east- 
ern Asia; (2) the nomads (Tartars, Mongols, etc.) of 
northern and central Asia and of eastern Russia ; 
(3) the Turks, the Magyars or Hungarians, and the 
Finns and Lapps, in Europe.^ Some consider the Amer- 
ican Indians a branch of the Yellowr Race; others 
consider them a distinct race — the Red Race. 
Egyptians, 

Libyans 2 (modern Berbers). 
Babylonians, 
Assyrians, 
Phoenicians, 
Hebrews, 
Aramaeans, 
Arabians, 

Abyssinians. C Hindus, 

Medes, 

Asiatics J Persians, 

•Armenians, 
Scythians, 
f Greeks, 
\ Romans. 

Celts r Gauls, 

1^ Britons, etc. 
f Germans, 
• -! English, 

l^ Scandinavians. 
Russians, 

Slavs -j Poles, 

Serbians, etc. 



1 In the case of many if not all of these peoples the Mongolian type has been modi- 
fied through fusion with other races. The Mongolian intruders in Europe through 
fusion with peoples of Caucasian blood have lost almost entirely the Mongolian features. 

2 The Egyptians and Libyans, together with the Iberians (in Spain), the Ligurians 
(in Italy), and the " Pelasgians " (in Greece), are branches of the " Mediterranean Race " 
of Sergi. 



I ndo- Eu- 
ropeans 
or Ar- 
yans 



Classical peoples 



Teutons 







PART I. THE EASTERN PEOPLES 



CHAPTER III 

ANCIENT EGYPT 

(From earliest times to 30 B.C.) 

I. POLITICAL HISTORY 

19. Egypt and the Nile. The Egypt of history comprises the 
Delta of the Nile and the narrow valley of its lower course. These 
rich lands were formed in past geologic ages from the sediment 
brought down by the river in seasons of flood. The Delta was 
known to the ancients as Lower Egypt, while the valley proper, 
reaching from the head of the Delta to the First Cataract,^ a distance 
of six hundred miles, was called Upper Egypt. 

Through the same means by which Egypt was originally created 
is the land each year still renewed and fertilized ; "^ hence an old 

1 About seven hundred miles from the Mediterranean, low ledges of rocks stretching 
across the Nile form the first obstruction to navigation in passing up the river. The 
rapids found here are termed the First Cataract. At this point the divided river forms 
the beautiful islet of Phila:, " The Pearl of Egypt," now submerged by the waters of the 
great Assuan reservoir. 

2 The -rate of the fluviatile deposit is from three to five inches in a century. The 
surface of the valley at Thebes, as shown by the accumulations about the monuments, 
has been raised about seven feet during the last seventeen hundred years. 

23 



24 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§20 




Fig. 13. Ploughing and Sowing 
(From a papyrus) 



Greek historian, in happy phrase, called the country " the gift of the 
Nile." Swollen by heavy tropical rains and the melting snows of 
the mountains about its sources, the Nile begins to rise in its lower 
parts late in June, and in two or three months, when the inundation 
has attained its greatest height, the country presents the appearance 

of a turbid sea. 

By the end of No- 
vember the river has 
returned to its bed, 
leaving the fields cov- 
ered with a film of 
rich earth. In a few 
weeks after the sowing, the entire land, so recently a flooded plain, 
is overspread with a sea of verdure, which forms a striking contrast 
to the desert sands and barren hills that rim the valley. 

20. Climate and Products. In Lower Egypt, near the sea, the rain- 
fall in the winter is abundant ; but the climate of Upper Egypt is all 
but rainless, only a few slight showers, as a rule, falling throughout the 
year.^ This dryness of the Egyptian air is what has preserved through 
so many thousand years, in such wonderful freshness of color and 
with such sharpness of outline, the numerous paintings and sculptures 
of the monuments of 
the country. 

The southern line 
of Egypt only just 
touches the tropics ; 
still the climate, in- 
fluenced by the wide 
and hot deserts that 

hem the valley, is semitropical in character. The fruits of the tropics 
and the cereals of the temperate zone grow here luxuriantly. Thus 
favored in climate as well as in the matter of irrigation, Egypt be- 
came in early times the granary of the East. To it less favored coun- 
tries, when stricken by famine, — a calamity so common in the East 

1 At irregular intervals of a few years, however, there occurs a real cloud-burst, and 
the mud-built villages of the natives are literally half dissolved and washed into the river. 




Fig. 14. Reaping the Grain 
(From a papyrus) 



§21] THE PREHISTORIC OR PREDYNASTIC AGE 25 

in regions dependent upon the rainfall, — looked for food, as did the 
families of Israel during drought and failure of crops in Palestine. 

21. The Prehistoric or Predynastic Age. The existence of man in 
Egypt long before the opening there of the historic period is evidenced 
by the stone implements, belonging to both the earlier and the later 
Stone Age, which are found in great numbers on the edges of the 
neighboring desert and in the numerous graves that in places fill the 
sands of the river valley. The flints lying on the surface of the desert 
are of the Old Stone Age type. Beyond what we may infer from 
these weathered stone implements, we know nothing of Paleolithic 
man in Egypt. The contents of the graves, however, belong to the 
New Stone Age; and these burial outfits (cf. sect. 5), along with other 
evidences that we possess, tell us something of the culture and of 
the manner of life of the men of this epoch. By the opening of the 
historic era — that is, before the end of the fifth millennium i?.c. — 
they had taken great steps towards civilization. They lived in villages, 
and probably had even created little city-kingdoms. They engaged in 
the tillage of the soil, and hunted the wild creatures which infested 
the forest and jungles which then covered much of the river valley.'^ 
They had knowledge of copper, but seem generally to have used 
stone implements, in the manufacture of which they had acquired 
wonderful skill. They possessed a system of writing, which, along 
with the other elements of their culture, they transmitted to the 
Egyptians of the historic period. 

22. The Pharaoh and the Dynasties. The rulers of historic Egypt 
bore the royal title or common name of Pharaoh. The Pharaohs that 
reigned in the country up to the conquest of Alexander the Great 
(332 B.C.) are grouped in thirty-one dynasties. Thirty of these we 
find in the lists of Manetho, an Egyptian priest who lived in the third 
century B.C., and who compiled in the Greek language a chronicle of 
the Pharaohs.*^ The history of these thirty-one dynasties covers more 

1 Still earlier, possibly in the Old Stone Age, forests grew also on the now sterile 
plateaus bordering the valley. The petrified remains of these forests, like the fossilized 
forests of Arizona in our own country, now lie strewn in places over the desert. One of 
these mummified forests is easily visited from the modern city of Cairo. 

- The first ten of these dynasties comprise what is usually called the Old Kingdom 
(the grouping here by Egyptologists is not uniform, some including in this group only 



26 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§23 



than half of the entire period of authentic history. Almost three mil- 
lenniums of this history lie back of the beginnings of the historic 

period in Greece and Italy. 

23. Menes and the First Dynasty 
(date not later than 3200 b.c.^). 
In the earliest prehistoric period 
Egypt seems to have been divided 
into numerous little kingdoms. 
In the course of time these came 
to form two states, one in the 
north and one in the south. Then 
these were united into a single 
kingdom. Tradition makes Menes 
to have been the founder of the 
First Dynasty of the dual king- 
dom, and thus the first of the 
Pharaohs. 

The essential fact respecting 
Egyptian culture under the First 
Dynasty is that most of the ele- 
ments of the later civilization are 
found here, not in germ, but in 
a surprisingly advanced stage of 
maturity. Sculpture had reached 
a stage far beyond primitive rude- 
ness, and the writing system had 
been already practically perfected. 
Copper was in use, though most 

five dynasties and others six or more) ; the eleventh and twelfth form what is known as 
the Middle Kingdom ; the next five cover a period of disorder and the rule of the 
Hyksos, Asiatic intruders ; and the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth constitute 
what is commonly designated as the New Empire. The remaining dynasties represent 
a period of decadence and revival, and the rule mainly of foreigners and conquerors. 

1 Egyptologists are not yet in agreement as to the date of Menes. Flinders Petrie 
puts his reign at about 5500 b.c. In the present edition we have adopted the Berlin dating. 

2 Found by Flinders Petrie at Abydos in 1903. " Clad in his thick embroidered robes, 
this old king, wily yet feeble with the weight of years, stands for diplomacy and state- 
craft of the oldest civilized kingdom that we know" (Petrie). "One of the greatest 
treasures of the British Museum." — Hall 




Fig. 15. Ivory Statuette of a 

King of the First Dynasty ^ 

(From Petrie's Abydos, Part II) 



§24] 



THE FOURTH DYNASTY 



27 



of the weapons and implements were still of stone, bone, and wood. 
Many of the stone utensils were of exquisite workmanship. There 
had been worked out a calendar which remained unchanged to the 
end of Egyptian history.^ 

24. The Fourth Dynasty (about 2900-2750 B.C.) : the Pyramid 
Builders. The Egyptian architects at first used chiefly crude brick, 
and constructed tombs and 
other buildings of only small 
dimensions ; the age of 
gigantic stone construction 
began with the Pharaohs of 
the Fourth Dynasty, who 
reigned at Memphis and are 
called the pyramid builders, 
'though there were pyramids 
constructed both before and 
long after this, but none on 
such an irhmense scale as 
those erected at this period. 

Khufu, the Cheops of the 
Greeks, was the greatest of 
the pyramid builders. He 
constructed the Great Pyra- 
mid, at Gizeh, — "the great- 
est mass of masonry that 
has ever been put together 
by mortal man." ^ A recent 
fortunate discovery enables us now to look upon the face of this 
Khufu (Fig. 16), one of the earliest and most renowned person- 
ages of the ancient world. 

To some king of this same early family of pyramid builders is 
also ascribed, by some authorities, the wonderful sculpture of the 

1 Egj'ptologists place the introduction of this calendar in the year 4241 n.c. — about 
one thousand years before Menes. 

- This pyramid rises from a base covering thirteen acres to a height of four hundred 
and fifty feet. According to Herodotus, Cheops employed one hundred thousand men 
for twenty years in its erection. 




Fig. 16. Khufu, Builder of the Great 
Pyramid. (From Petrie's Abydos, Part II) 

" Though only a minute figure in ivory, it shows 

a character of immense energy and will ; the 

face is an astonishing portrait to be expressed in 

a quarter of an inch." — Petrie 



28 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§2S 



gigantic human-headed Sphinx at the foot of the Great Pyramid — 
the largest statue in the world. 

These sepulchral monuments, for the pyramids were the tombs of 
the Pharaohs who constructed them (sect. 39), and the great Sphinx 
are the most venerable memorials of the early world that have been 
preserved to us. Although standing so far back in the gray dawn of 

the historic morning, they mark, in the 
marvelous granite lining of their chambers 
and the colonnades of their chapels, not 
the beginning but in some respects the 
perfection of Egyptian architecture. And 
as with architecture so was it with portrait 
sculpture, which during this period attained 
a perfection that has hardly ever been 
surpassed.^ 

25. The Twelfth Dynasty (about 2000- 
1800 B.C.). After the Sixth Dynasty, Egypt 
for several centuries is almost lost from 
view. When finally the valley emerges 
from the obscurity of this period, the old 
city of Memphis, for long the residence 
of the Pharaohs, has receded into the 
background and the city of Thebes has 
taken its place as the seat of the royal 
power. 

The period of the Twelfth Dynasty, a 
line of Theban kings, is one of the bright- 
est in Egyptian history. It has been called 
Egypt's golden age. One of the most 
notable achievements of the period was the improvement made by 
one of the Pharaohs in the irrigation of the Fayum oasis in the 
desert west of Memphis. This district consists of a great depression, 
part of which, like the Imperial Valley of California, lies below the 




Fig. 17. The " Sheikh-el- 
BELED." (Gizeh Museum) 

Supposed portrait statue, carved 
in wood, of one of the overseers 
of the work on the Great Pyra- 
mid. This is one of the master- 
pieces of Egyptian sculpture 



1 The portrait sculpture of this age represents the second great art of the early 
world — the first being the amazing art (thousands of years earlier) of the hunter-artists 
of the Old Stone Age in Europe (cf. sect. 4). 



§26] 



PERIOD OF OBSCURITY 



29 



sea level. It contains a lake fed by a branch of the Nile. By various 
engineering means the storage and distribution of the flood waters of 
the season of inundation were regulated, and the area of cultivation 
was thus greatly extended. 

26. Period of Obscurity and of the Rule of the Hyksos (about 
1800-1580 B.C.). Soon after the bright period of the Twelfth Dynasty, 
Egypt again underwent a great eclipse. Tribes of unknown race from 
Asia pressed across the frontier 
of Egypt and set up in the valley 
what was called the rule of the 
"Shepherd Kings." These in- 
truders soon adopted the manners 
and culture of the people they 
had subjected. After they had 
ruled in the valley probably up- 
wards of a century, an end was 
put to their dominion by the 
Theban kings, whom they had 
made vassals. It is thought by 
some scholars that it was during 
the supremacy of the Hyksos 
that the families of Israel found 
a refuge in Lower Egypt. 

The rule of the Hyksos in the 
Nile-land derives special impor- 
tance from the fact that these in- 




FiG. 18. The Scribe. (The Louvre) 

" With his head raised, his hand holding 
his reed-pen, ... he still waits as he has 
done for [five thousand years], for the 
moment when his master will consent 
to resume his interrupted dictation." — 
Maspero 



truders introduced into Egypt from Asia the horse and the war 
chariot, which now appear for the first time on the monuments of 
the country. From this period forward the war chariot holds a 
place of first importance in the armaments of the Pharaohs. 

27. The Eighteenth Dynasty (about 1580-1350 B.C.). The most 
eventful period of Eg)^'ptian history, covered by what is called the 
New Empire, now opens. The Pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, 
the first of this epoch of imperialism, in order to free Egypt from 
the danger of another invasion from Asia, endeavored to extend 
their authority over Syria. In the pursuit of this object they made 



30 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§27 



numerous campaigns in Asia. Under Thothmes^ III, who because 
of his wide conquests has been called " the Alexander of Egyptian 
histor)^," the empire attained its greatest extension, stretching from 
the upper reaches of the Nile to the Middle Euphrates. 

The conquest of Syria 
brought vast wealth in 
booty and tribute to the 
Pharaohs, and this gave 
a great impulse to the 
arts and industries of the 
Nile-land. The monarchs 
gave much attention to 
the erection and adorn- 
ment of sacred edifices. 
Thothmes had a great 
share in this work. It was 
to him that the Temple 
of Karnak at Thebes, the 
remains of which form 
the most majestic ruin in 
the world, owed much of 
its splendor. His obelisks 
stand to-day in Constan- 
tinople, Rome, London, 
and New York. 

And perhaps it was the 
widening of Egypt's out- 
look that accounts for the 
appearance at this time 
of a religious reformer — a surprising thing in conservative Egypt. 
It was one of the Pharaohs of this Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenho- 
tep IV (about 1350 B.C.), known as the "heretic king,"^ who tried 

1 Or Thutmose, Greek Thutmosis. The Egyptian writing being without vowels, the 
form of many names is uncertain. 

2 The name of this Pharaoh is connected with one of the most interesting and 
important discoveries ever made on oriental ground. This was the discovery in 1S87, 
at Tell el-Amarna, on the Nile, of several hundred letters, written in the Babylonian 




Fig. 19. Amenhotep IV and Family 

Bestowing Gifts. (From a tomb at Tell 

el-Amarna) 

The life-giving and sustaining power of the sun, 
whose radiant energy is conceived as the sole source 
of life and movement in the universe, is symbolized 
by streaming rays, each ending in an outstretched 
hand. This striking emblem was an entirely new 
type in Egyptian symbolism 




I'LATii IV. Ruins ov tiik. CIkeat II all uk Columns at Kaknak. 
(From a photograph) 



§27] 



THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY 



31 



to do away with the worship of many divinities and to establish the 
worship of one God. The deity thus raised to single sovereignty 
was the old Egyptian sun-god, whose suggestive new symbol — the 
old human and animal emblems were cast aside — was the sun's 
disk represented with streaming rays, each ending in a human hand 
extended as if in bless- 
ing (Fig. 19). So far 
as we know, this was 
the earliest attempt 
in the history of the 
world to establish 
monotheism.^ There- 
form, however, failed. 
Amenhotep was too 
far in advance of his 
age. Upon his death 
the new capital city 
which he had founded 
at Tell el-Amarna, 
below Thebes, was 
destroyed, his mem- 
ory was consigned to 
eternal infamy, and 
Egypt resumed or 
rather continued — 
for the masses never 
in heart accepted the new creed — its worship of many gods. 
Monotheism was not to go forth from Egypt, but from Judea.^ 

language and script and comprising the correspondence, not only between the reigning 
Pharaoh and the kings of Assyria and Babylonia, but also between the Egyptian court 
and the Egyptian governors and vassal kings of various Syrian towns. The significance 
of this discovery consists in the revelation it makes of the deep hold that the civilization 
of Babylon had upon the Syrian lands centuries before the Hebrew invasion of Palestine. 
This means that the Hebrew development took place in an environment charged with 
elements of Babylonian culture. 

1 See Breasted, Development of Religion and T7iougkt in Ancient Egypt (191 2), lect. ix. 

- The interpretation of this religious movement which we h'ave adopted in the text 
is not, it should be said, accepted by all Egyptologists. Some regard the reformer as a 
henotheist or monolatrist rather than a pure monotheist. 




Fig. 20. Detail of Relief Portraying Victory 

OF RaMESES II OVER THE KhETA AT KaDESH, ON 
THE OrONTES 

'' First aid " being administered to a half-drowned chieftain 
by his soldiers holding him head downwards 



32 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§28 



28. The Nineteenth Dynasty (about 1350-1205 B.C.). The Pharaohs 
of the Nineteenth Dynasty rival those of the Eighteenth in their fame 
as conquerors and builders. It is largely their deeds and works, in 
connection with those of the great rulers of the preceding dynasty, 
that have given Egypt such a name and place in history. The great- 
est name of this dynasty is that of Rameses or Ramses II (about 
1292-1225 B.C.), the Sesostris of the Greeks. Ancient writers accorded 
him the first place among all the Egyptian sovereigns, and told most 

exaggerated stories of his conquests 
and achievements. His long reign, em- 
bracing sixty-seven years, was, however, 
well occupied with the superintendence 
of great architectural works, of which 
there are more connected with his name 
than with that of any other oriental ruler. 
The chief of Rameses' wars were 
those against the Kheta, the Hittites of 
the Bible, who at this time were main- 
taining an extensive empire, embracing 
in the main the interior uplands of Asia 
Minor and northern Syria. We find 
Rameses at last concluding with them a 
celebrated treaty of peace and alliance, 
in which the chief of the Hittites is 
formally recognized as in every respect 
the equal of the Pharaoh of Egypt. 
The meaning of this alliance was that the Pharaohs had met their 
peers in the princes of the Hittites, and that they could no longer 
hope to become inasters of western Asia. 

It is the opinion of some scholars that this Rameses II was the 
oppressor of the children of Israel, the Pharaoh who " made their 
lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all 
manner of service in the field," ^ and that what is known as the 
Exodus took place in the reign of his son Merneptah (about 
1225-1215 B.C.). 

1 Exod. i, 4. 




Fig. 21. Phalanx of the 
Hittites 

In the background, town protected 
by walls and moats 



§29] 



THE TWENTY-SIXTH DYNASTY 



33 



29. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty (663-625 B.C.). We pass without 
comment a long period of several centuries, marked indeed by great 
vicissitudes in the fortunes of the Egyptian monarchs, yet characterized 
on the whole by a sure and rapid decline in the power and splendor 
of their empire.^ During the latter part of this period Egypt was tribu- 
tary to Ethiopia ^ or to Assyria ; but a native prince, Psammetichus 
by name, with the aid of Greek mercenaries, "bronze men who came 
up from the sea," drove out the foreign garrisons. Psammetichus 
thus became the founder of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (663 B.C.). 

Owing his throne chiefly to the swords of Greek soldiers, Psam- 
metichus was led to open the country even more completely than 




Fig. 22. Brick-Making in Ancient Egypt. (From Thebes) 



the earlier Pharaohs had done to the settlement of Greek colonists. 
The creation of these closer relations with Greece at just this time 
when the Greeks were coming prominently forward to play their 
great part in history was a most significant event. From this time 
on, Greek philosophers are represented as becoming pupils of the 
Egyptian priests ; and without question the learning and philosophy 
of the old Egyptians exercised a profound influence upon the open, 

1 The most important episode in the history of this period was an attempted invasion 
of Egypt by sea raiders whom the Egyptian records called the " Peoples of the Sea." 
They were met and defeated somewhere along the Syrian coast by Rameses III (about 
1200 B.C.). These sea folk are believed to have been /Egean peoples — Cretans, Lycians, 
etc. The Greeks it seems were at this time pressing into the Greek peninsula from 
the north, and were subjecting or driving out the native inhabitants of the /Egean shore- 
lands and islands (sect. 152). A part of the raiders settled on the coast plain of Pales- 
tine and became the fonnidable enemies of the Israelites — the Philistines of the Bible 
writers (sect. So). 

2 The Twenty-fifth Dynasty was Ethiopian. This is the sole instance of the appearance 
of the Black Race in Mediterranean or world history. 

EN 



34 ANCIENT EGYPT [§30 

receptive mind of the Greek race, that was, in its turn, to become 
the teacher of the world. 

With the name of Necho II (610-594 B.C.), the son of Psammeti- 
chus, is connected an adventurous undertaking — the circumnaviga- 
tion of Africa.-^ For this exploring expedition Necho is said to have 
engaged Phoenician sailors. The feat of sailing around the continent, 
there is reason to believe, was actually accomplished ; for the historian 
Herodotus, in his account of the enterprise, says that the voyagers 
upon their return reported that when they were rounding the Cape 
the sun was on their right hand (to the north). This feature of 
the report, which led Herodotus to disbelieve it, is to us fairly good 
evidence that the voyage was really performed. 

30. The Last of the Pharaohs. Before the end of Necho's reign 
Egypt lost to Babylon its possessions in Asia, and a little later 
(525 B.C.) bowed beneath the Persian yoke. Only for a little space 
did she ever again regain her independence. From about the middle 
of the fourth century b. c. to the present day no native prince has sat 
upon the throne of the Pharaohs.^ 

Upon the extension of the power of the Macedonians and the 
Greeks over the East through the conquests of Alexander the Great 
(Chapter XXV), Egypt willingly accepted them as masters ; and for 
three centuries the valley was the seat of the renowned Grasco- 
Egyptian empire of the Ptolemies. The Romans finally annexed the 
region to their all-absorbing empire (30 B.C.). 

" The mission of Egypt among the nations was fulfilled ; it had lit 
the torch of civilization in ages inconceivably remote, and had passed 
it on to other peoples of the West." 

II. THE CIVILIZATION 

31. The Government. From first to last the government of ancient 
Egypt bore a sacred character. The Pharaoh was regarded as divine, 
as the son and representative of the sun-god. Three thousand years 
and more after Menes, Alexander the Great, after his conquest of the 

1 See Herodotus, iv, 42. 

2 See Ezek. xxx, 13 : " There shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt." 



§32] THE EGYPTIAN SYSTEM OF WRITING 35 

country, thought to strengthen his position by causing himself to be 
proclaimed the son of the highest of the Egyptian gods (sect. 283). 

The authority of the divine Pharaoh was in theory absolute, but in 
practice was limited by a nobility and a powerful priesthood.'^ The 
nation seemed almost to exist for the god-king. The construction of 
his pyramid tomb, or his vast rock sepulcher and its attached temple, 
laid under heavy tribute the labor and resources of the nation. 

Taxes were paid in kind, that is, in the products of field and 
workshop, for the ancient Egyptians did not, until late in their 
history, use coined money. All the salaries of officials and the wages 
of workmen were paid in the provisions or articles received by the 
government in payment of tribute or taxes. This system necessitated 

Fig. 23. Forms of Egyptian Writing 
The top line is hieroglyphic script ; the bottom line is the same text in hieratic 

the erection of immense storehouses, granaries, and stables for the 
storing of the grain, wine, and cattle received by the tax collectors. 
The building of these warehouses was, as we learn from the Bible 
narrative, one of the tasks required of the Israelites : " Therefore 
they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. 
And they built for Pharaoh treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses." ^ 
32. The Egjrptian System of Writing. One of the greatest 
achievements of the ancient Egyptians was the working out of a 
system of writing. By the middle of the fourth millennium b.c. this 
system had passed through all the stages which we have already 
indicated as marking the usual development of a written language 
(sect. 11). But the curious thing about the system was this: when 

1 The sacerdotal order was at certain periods a dominant force in the state. They 
enjoyed freedom from taxation, and met the expenses of the temple service mainly from 
the income of the sacred lands, which are said to have embraced, at one period, one third 
of the soil of the country. 2 Exod. i, ii. 



36 ANCIENT EGYPT [§33 

an improved method of writing had been worked out the old method 
was not discarded. Hence the Egyptian writing was partly picture 
writing and partly alphabetic writing, and exhibited besides all the 
intermediate forms. The Egyptians, as has been said, had developed 
an alphabet without knowing it. 

Just as we have two forms of letters, one for printing and another 
for writing, so the Egyptians employed three forms of script : the 
hieroglyphic, in which the pictures and symbols were carefully drawn 
— a form generally employed in monumental inscriptions; the hieratic, 
a simplified form of the hieroglyphic, adapted to writing, and forming 

the greater part of the papyrus manu- 
scripts ; and later a still simpler form 
developed from the hieratic, and called 
by the Greeks demotic, that is, the ordi- 
nary writing (from demos, " the people "). 
33. The Rosetta Stone and the Key 
to Egyptian "Writing. The key to the 
Egyptian writing was discovered by 
Fig. 24. The Rosetta ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Rosetta Stone, which was 

found by the French when they invaded 
Egypt under Napoleon in 1798. This precious relic, a heavy block of 
black basalt, is now in the British Museum. It holds an inscription 
in the Egyptian and the Greek language, which is written in three 
different forms of script — in the Egyptian hieroglyphic and demotic, 
and in Greek characters. The chief credit of deciphering the Egyp- 
tian script and of opening up the long-sealed libraries of Egyptian 
learning belongs to the French scholar Champollion. 

34. Egyptian Literature. The literature opened up to us by the 
decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphics is varied and instructive, 
revealing as it does the life and thought and scientific attainments of 
Old Egypt at a time when the Greek world was yet young.^ There 
is the ancient Book of the Dead, containing instructions for the use 

1 The chief writing material used by the ancient Egyptians was the noted papyrus 
paper, manufactured from a reed which grew in the marshes and along the water 
channels of the Nile. From the Greek names of this Egyptian plant, byblos and 
papyrus, come our words Bible and paper. 




§35] 



THE EGYPTIAN GODS 



37 









Fig. 



and guidance of the soul in its perilous journey to the realms of the 
blessed in the nether world ; there are novels or romances, and fairy 
tales, among these a parallel to " Cinderella and the Glass Slipper " ; 
religious inscriptions, public and private letters, fables, and epics; 
treatises on medicine and various other scientific subjects ; and books 
on ancient history — in prose and in verse — which fully justify the 
declaration of Egyptian priests to the Greek philosopher Solon : 
" You Greeks are mere chil- 
dren ; you know nothing at 
all of the past."^ 

35. The Egyptian Gods. 
It has been said of man that 
he is " incurably religious." 
This could certainly be said 
of the ancient Egyptians — 
that is, if we may regard the 
possession of many gods and 
anxious concern respecting 
the life in the hereafter as 
constituting religion. 

Chief of the great Egyptian deities was the sun-god Ra (or Re), 
from whom the Pharaohs claimed descent. He was imagined as sail- 
ing across the heavens in a sacred bark on a celestial river, and at 
night returning to the east through subterranean water passages — 
an adventurous and danger-beset voyage. 

Osiris at first was probably the spirit or god of vegetation,^ but 
later he came to be invested with the attributes of the sun-god Ra. 

1 See note at end of Chapter XIII. 

2 The twelve hieroglyphics used in writing these names have the following values : 



:S. Two Royal Names in 
Hieroglyphics 



It was the first of these names which gave the 
clue to the interpretation of the hieroglyphic 
script. Through a comparison of the two 
the values of several symbols were definitely 
determined 2 



AK, -Sa^L, I]e. f]o, DP, ^A, 



or ^T. 



•R, 



:M, 



I(AI), PS 



With these the reader will easily decipher the names. It should be noted that the last 
two signs in the longer word are used merely to indicate that the word is a divine, i.e. 
royal, feminine proper name, and that for the sake of symmetry one symbol is sometimes 
placed beneath another. The upper sign should be taken first. 
8 Cf. Frazer, Adonis, Aitis, Osiris (2d cd.), pp. 267 ff. 



38 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§36 



In his primitive character as the spirit of plants and trees, which die 
and come to life again each year, he came naturally to be conceived 
as the god of human resurrection and immortality/ and judge and 
ruler in the realms of the dead. 

The god Seth, called Typhon by the Greek writers, was the Satan 
of later Egyptian mythology. He was the personification of the evil 
in the world, just as Osiris was the personification of the good. 

Besides the great gods^ there was a multitude of lesser deities, 
each nome or district and village having its local god or gods. 

36. Animal Worship. The Egyptians believed some animals to 
be incarnations of a god descended from heaven. Thus a god was 

thought to animate the body 
of some particular bull, which 
might be known from certain 
spots or markings. Upon the 
death of the sacred bull, or 
Apis, as he was called, a great 
search, accompanied with loud 
lamentation, was made through- 
out the land for his successor ; 
for the moment the god de- 
parted from the dying bull it 
entered a calf that moment 
born. The body of the de- 
ceased Apis was carefully embalmed, and, amid funeral ceremonies 
of great expense and magnificence, laid away in a huge granite 
sarcophagus in the tomb of his predecessors.^ 

Not only were individual animals held sacred and worshiped, but 
sometimes whole species, for example, the cat, were regarded as 
sacred. To kill one of these animals was adjudged the greatest 

1 See Fig. 97 (p. 145) and descriptive note. 

2 These great divinities were often grouped in triads. First in importance among 
these groups was that of Osiris, Isis (his wife and sister), and Ilorus their son. The 
members of this triad were worshiped throughout Egypt. 

s In 185 1 Mariette discovered this sepulchral chamber of the sacred bulls (the 
Serapeum). It is a narrow gallery two thousand feet in length cut in the limestone 
cliffs just opposite the site of ancient Memphis. A large number of immense granite 
coffins and several mummified bulls were found. 




Fig. 26. Mummy of a Sacred Bull 
(From a photograph) 



§37] EGYPTIAN DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE LIFE 39 

impiety. Persons so unfortunate as to kill one through accident 
were sometimes murdered by the infuriated people. 

Many explanations have been given to account for the existence 
of such a primitive form of worship among so cultured a people as 
the ancient Egyptians. There can be little doubt that these low 
elements in their religion were nothing more nor less than the crude 
ideas and practices of the savage prehistoric tribes of the Nile valley. 
The Egyptians simply did in the domain of religion what they 
did in all other domains of their culture — kept the old alongside 
the new. 

37. The Egyptian Doctrine of a Future Life. Among no other 
people of antiquity did the life after death seem so real and hold so 
large a place in the thoughts of the living as among the people of 
Old Egypt. It is difficult to give an account of this belief, for the 
reason that there were different forms of it held at different times 
and in different places. But the essential part of the belief was that 
man has a soul which, aided by magic words and rites, survives the 
death of the body.^ Its abode was sometimes thought to be in or 
near the tomb ; again its dwelling place was conceived to be the great 
western desert, the land of the setting sun, hence the term westerners 
applied to the dead ; and still again its abode was imagined to be 
the starry heavens, or a vast realm beneath the earth. 

This belief in a future life, taken in connection with certain ideas 
respecting the nature of the soul's existence in the other world and 
of its needs, reacted in a remarkable way upon the people of ancient 
Egypt. It was the cause and motive of many of the things they 
did when they laid away their dead.^ 

1 " There is no ground for the complicated conception of a person in ancient Egypt 
as consisting, besides the body, of a ka, a ba (soul), a y'hw (spirit), a shadow, etc. Be- 
sides the body and the ba (soul), there was only the ka, the protecting genius, which 
was not an element of the personality . . ." (Breasted, Development of Religion and 
Thought in Ancient Egyft (1912), p. 56, n. 2). And so Steindorff : " In my opinion it 
[the ka] is not, as commonly supposed, a kind of ethereal facsimile or double of the man, 
but a guardian spirit or genius" {The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (1905), p. 122). 

' The ideas and beliefs which underlie such practices as are portrayed in the follow- 
ing sections are common to all primitive peoples. What is extraordinary in the case 
of the Egyptians is that they should have retained these customs so long after their 
emergence from barbarism. This is to be attributed to their extreme conservatism 
(cf. sect. 36). 



40 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§38 



38. The First Need of the Soul : the Old Body. The first need 
of the soul was the possession of the old body, upon the preservation 
of which the existence or happiness of the soul was believed to de- 
pend. Hence the anxious care with which the Egyptians sought to 
preserve the body against decay by embalming it. 

In the various processes of embalming, use was made of oils, 
resins, bitumen, and various aromatic gums. The bodies of the 
wealthy were preserved by being filled with costly aromatic and 

resinous substances, and swathed 
in bandages of linen. To a body 
thus treated is applied the term 
mummy. As this method of em- 
balming was very costly, the bodies 
of the poorer classes were simply 
dipped into hot asphalt, or salted 
and dried, and wrapped in coarse 
mats preparatory to burial in the 
desert sands, or in common tombs 
cared for by the priests. 

To this practice of the Egyp- 
tians of embalming their dead we 
owe it that we can look upon the 
actual faces of many of the ancient 
Pharaohs. Towards the close of 
the last century (in 1881) the mummies of Thothmes III, Sethos I, 
Rameses II, and those of about forty other kings, queens, princes, 
and priests, embracing nearly all the Pharaohs of the Eighteenth, 
Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first dynasties, were found in a 
secret rock chamber near Thebes. The faces of Sethos and Rameses, 
both strong faces, are so remarkably preserved that, in the words of 
Maspero, " were their subjects to return to the earth to-day they 
could not fail to recognize their old sovereigns." 

Along with the mummy there were often placed in the tomb a 
number of wood, clay, or stone portrait statuettes of the deceased. 
The lid of the coffin was also carved in the form of a mummy. The 
idea here was that, if through any accident the body were destroyed, 




Fig. 27. Profile of Rameses II 
(From a photograph of the mummy) 



§39] 



THE SECOND NEED OF THE SOUL 



41 




the soul might avail itself of these substitutes. It was the effort put 
forth by the artist to make these portrait images and carvings lifelike 
that contributed to bring early Egyptian sculpture to such a high 
degree of excellence. 

39. The Second Need of the Soul: a Secure Habitation. Another 
need of the soul was a safe habitation. Upon the temporary homes 
of the living the Egyptians bestowed little care, but upon the " eternal 
abodes " of the dead they lavished unstinted labor and cost. 

The tombs of the official class and of the rich were sometimes 
structures of brick or stone, and again they were chambers cut in the 
limestone cliffs that rim 
the Nile valley. 

The bodies of the ear- 
lier Pharaohs were, as we 
have seen, hidden away 
in the heart of great moun- 
tains of stone — the pyra- 
mids. Many of the later 
Pharaohs constructed for 
themselves magnificent rock-cut tombs, some of which are perfect 
labyrinths of corridors, halls, and chambers. In the hills back of 
Thebes, in the so-called Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, there are 
so many of these royal sepulchers that the place has been called the 
" Westminster Abbey of Egypt." 

40. The Third Need of the Soul: Food and Things Used in the 
Earthly Life. But not all the wants of the soul were met by the 
mummy, the substitute portrait-images, and the secure tomb. It had 
need also of food and drink and implements — of everything, in a 
word, that the deceased had needed while on earth. Hence all these 
things were put into the tomb when the body was laid away, and 
thereafter, from time to time, fresh supplies of food were heaped 
upon a table placed to receive them. That there might be no failure 
of gifts, the tombs of the wealthy were often richly endowed, and 
the duty of renewing the supplies laid upon the priest of some 
neighboring temple. The very poor had scanty provision, often only 
a pair of worn-out shoes or pasteboard sandals. 



Fig. 28. Mummy Case with Mummy 



42 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§41 



But as it was only the spirit or double of the things thus set out 
which the soul could make use of, it came to be believed that a 
picture or an inexpensive model in wood or clay of these objects 
would serve just as well as the actual objects themselves. Thus the 
pictures of different kinds of food and drink supplied the soul with 
" an unsubstantial yet satisfying repast " ; and the model of a boat 
made possible a pleasure sail on the celestial Nile. Among the 
objects sometimes put in the tomb were models of slave women 
without feet — presumably that they might not 
run away when wanted ; and models of servants, 
called respondents or " answerers," since their 
duty was " to arise and answer in place of the 
dead man when he was called upon to do work 
in the underworld." 

It was this belief — that pictures and models 
would take the place of the real things — which 
covered the walls of the Egyptian tombs with 
those sculptures and paintings which have con- 
verted for us these chambers of the dead into 
picture galleries where the Egypt of the Pharaohs 
rises again into life before our eyes. 

41. The Judgment of the Dead and the Negative 
Confession. But alongside these crude ideas and 
beliefs which made well-being and happiness in 
the hereafter dependent upon the preservation of 
the old body, a sumptuous tomb, a constant supply of food and 
other things, there developed a belief and conviction that the lot of 
the soul in the future is determined solely by the life, whether good 
or evil, lived on earth. 

This belief found expression in the so-called Judgment of the Dead. 
King and peasant alike must appear before the dread tribunal of Osiris, 
the judge of the underworld, and render an account of the deeds done 
in the body. Here the soul sought justification in such declarations 




Fig. 29. Servant 
FOR THE Under- 
world.! (After 
Wiedemann) 



1 A statuette of a workman placed in the tomb along with the mummy. It was thought 
that the recital of certain magical formulas imparted life to the image. A number of these 
figures put in the tomb supplied the deceased with servants in the other world. 



§411 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD 



43 



as these, which form what is called the Negative Confession : " I have 
not blasphemed " ; "I have not stolen " ; "I have not slain any one 
treacherously " ; "I have not slandered any one or made false accu- 
sation " ; "I have not reviled the face of my father " ; "I have not 
eaten my heart through with envy." ^ 

In other declarations of the soul we find a singularly close approach 
to Christian morality, as for instance in this : "I have given bread to 
the hungry and drink to him who was athirst ; I have clothed the 
naked with garments." 

The truth of what the soul thus asserted in its own behalf was 
tested by the balances of the gods. In one of the scales was placed 




Fig. 30. The Judgment of the Dead. (From a papyrus) 
Showing the weighing of the heart of the deceased in the scales of truth 

the heart of the deceased; in the other, a feather, the symbol of 
truth or righteousness. The soul stood by watching the weighing. 
If the heart were found not light, the soul was welcomed to the 
companionship of the good Osiris. The unjustified were sent to a 
place of torment or were thrown to a monster to be devoured. 

This judgment scene in the nether world forms the most instructive 
memorial of Old Egypt that has been preserved to us. We here learn 
what sort of a conscience the Egyptian had early developed ; for the 
confession and the doctrine of a judgment date from a very remote 



1 It will be noted that these are in substance the equivalent of six of the Ten 
Commandments of the Hebrews. 



44 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



[§42 



period of Egyptian civilization. The moral teachers of Egypt here 
anticipated the moral teachers of Israel.^ 

42. Architecture, Sculpture, and Minor Arts. At a comparatively 
early period Egyptian civilization ceased to make further notable prog- 
ress. The past was taken as a model, just as it is in China to-day. 
So what is here said of the arts is, speaking broadly, as true of them 

in the third millennium before 
Christ as at any later period of 
Egyptian history. 

In the building art the ancient 
Egyptians, in some respects, have 
never been surpassed. The Mem- 
phian pyramids built by the earlier, 
and the Theban temples raised by 
the later Pharaohs have excited the 
astonishment and the admiration 
alike of all the successive genera- 
tions that have looked upon them. 
" Thebes," says Lenormant, " in 
spite of all the ravages of time and 
of the barbarian still presents the 
grandest, the most prodigious as- 
semblage of buildings ever erected 
by the hand of man." 

In the cutting and shaping of 
enormous blocks of the hardest 
stone, the Egyptians achieved re- 
sults which modem stonecutters 
can scarcely equal. " It is doubtful," says Rawlinson, " whether the 
steam-sawing of the present day could be trusted to produce in ten 
years from the quarries of Aberdeen a single obelisk such as those 
which the Pharaohs set up by dozens." ^ 

1 "... In this judgment the Egyptian introduced for the first time in the history of 
man the fully developed idea that the future destiny of the dead must be dependent 
entirely upon the ethical quality of the earthly life, the idea of future accountability." — 
Breasted, History of Egypt (1912), p. 173. 

"^History of Ancient Egypt ^ vol. i, p. 49S. The Egyptian stonecutters did much of 
their work with copper and bronze tools, to which they were able by some process to 




Fig. 31. An Egyptian Obelisk 



§43] ASTRONOMY, GEOMETRY, AND MEDICINE 45 




Fig. 32. Tubular 
Drill Hole 



As we have seen (sect. 24), Egyptian sculpture was at its best in 
the earliest period ; that it became so imitative and the figures so 
conventional and rigid was due to the influence of religion. The 
artist, in the portrayal of the figures of the gods, was not allowed 
to change a single line of the sacred form. Wilkinson says that 
Menes would have recognized the statue of Osiris 
in the temples of the last of the Pharaohs. 

In many of the minor arts the Egyptians at- 
tained a surprisingly high degree of excellence. 
They were able in coloring glass to secure tints 
as brilliant and beautiful as any which modern 
art has been able to produce. In goldsmith's work 
they showed wonderful skill. The scarabaeus 
(beetle) was reproduced with lines of almost microscopic delicacy. 
It should be noted here that it was especially in the domain 
of art that the influence of Egypt was exerted upon contemporary 
civilizations. Until the full development of Greek art, Egyptian art 
reigned over the world in somewhat the same way that Greek art has 
reigned since the Golden 
Age of Greece. Its in- 
fluence can be traced in 
the architecture, the sculp- 
ture, and the decorative art 
of all the peoples of the 
Mediterranean lands. 

43. The Sciences : As- 
tronomy, Geometry, and 
Medicine. The cloudless 
and brilliant skies of Egypt invited the inhabitants of the Nile valley 
to the study of the heavenly bodies. And another circumstance 
closely related to their very existence — the inundation of the Nile, 
following the changing cycles of the stars — could not but have 
incited them to the watching and recording of the movements of 

give a very hard edge. In the very earliest times they had invented the tubular drill, 
which they set with hard cutting points. With this instrument they did work which 
engineers of to-day say could not be surpassed with the modem diamond drill. See 
Flinders Petrie, Ten Years' Digging in Egypt, pp. 26, 27. 





Fig. 33. A Scarab Amulet 



46 ANCIENT EGYPT [§44 

the heavenly bodies. Their observations led them to discover the 
length, very nearly, of the solar year, which they divided into 
twelve months of thirty days each, with a festival period of five 
days at the end of the year.-^ This was the calendar that, with 
minor changes, Julius Caesar introduced into the Roman Empire, and 
which, slightly reformed by Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582, has been 
the system employed by almost all the civilized world up to the 
present day. 

The Greeks accounted for the early rise of the science of geometry 
among the Egyptians by the necessity they were under of reestab- 
lishing each year the boundaries of their fields — the inundation 
obliterating old landmarks and divisions. The science thus forced 
upon their attention was cultivated with zeal and success. A single 
papyrus has been discovered that holds twelve geometrical theorems. 
The work of the Greek scholars in this field was based on that done 
by the Egyptians. 

The Egyptian physicians relied largely on magic, for every ailment 
was supposed to be caused by a demon that must be expelled by 
means of magical rites and incantations. But they also used drugs 
of various kinds ; the ciphers or characters employed by modern 
apothecaries to designate grains and drams are believed to be of 
Egyptian invention. 

44. Egypt's Contribution to Civilization. Egypt, we thus see, 
made valuable gifts to civilization. From the Nile came the germs 
of much found in the later cultures of the peoples of western Asia 
and of the Greeks and Romans, and through their mediation in that 
of the modern world. " We are the heirs of the civilized past," says 
Sayce, " and a goodly portion of that civilized past was the creation 
of ancient Egypt." 

How varied and helpful Egypt's contributions were to the growing 
cultures of the Mediterranean area will appear as we proceed in 
following chapters to rehearse briefly the story of the other historic 
peoples of antiquity. 

1 The Egyptian scholars knew that 365 days was a period i of a day short of a year, 
but the conservatism of the people prevented the use of a calendar that provided for 
the addition of one day to every fourth year. 



REFERENCES 



47 



Selections from the Sources. Records of the Past (New Series, edited by 
Sayce), vol. ill, " The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep." Petrie's Egyptian Tales 
(Second Series), "Anpu and Bata." Maspero's Popular Stories of Ancient 
Egypt, " The Lamentations of the Fellah," pp. 43-67 ; and " The Shipwrecked 
Sailor," pp. 98-107. Herodotus, ii, 1-14. The student should bear in mind 
that the parts of Herodotus' work devoted to the Orient have a very different 
historical value from that possessed by those portions of the history which 
deal primarily with Greek affairs. " The net result of Oriental research," says 
Professor Sayce, " in its bearing upon Herodotus is to show that the greater 
part of what he professes to tell us of the history of Egypt, Babylonia, and 
Persia is really a collection of ' marchen,' or popular stories, current among 
the Greek loungers and half-caste dragomen on the skirts of the Persian 
empire. . . . After all, ... it may be questioned whether they are not of 
higher value for the history of the human mind than the most accurate 
descriptions of kings and generals, of wars and treaties and revolutions." 

References (Modern). Breasted, A History of Egypt, A History of the 
Ancient Egyptiafis, and Developmettt of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt. 
Maspero, The Dawn of Civilization, chaps, i-vi ; The Struggle of the Natiotts, 
chaps, i-v ; and Manual of Egyptian Archceology. Rawlinson, Histoiy of 
Ancient Egypt, 2 vols., and Story of Ancient Egypt. Newberry and Garstang, 
A Short History of Ancient Egypt. Baikie, The Stoiy of the Pharaohs. Hall, 
Ancient Histoiy of ike Near East (consult table of contents). Wiedemann, 
Religion of the Aiicient Egyptians. Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the 
Ancient Egyptians (should be used with caution — portions are antiquated). 
Erman, Life in Aticient Egypt. Budge, Egyptian Religion and Egyptian 
Ideas of the Future Life. Steindorff, The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians. 
Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art i?t Ancient Egypt. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Characteristics of Egyptian art: Reinach, 
Apollo, pp. 17-22. 2. Industrial arts : Maspero, Egyptian Archtsology, chap. v. 
3. Dwellings of the poor and of the rich : Maspero, Egyptian Archceology^ 
pp. 2-28. 4. The market and the shops : Maspero, Life in Ancient Egypt 
and Assyria, chap. ii. 5. The Tell el-Amarna letters : Breasted, Histoiy of 
^gypt, pp. 332-337» 3S2-389. 393 ; Light from the East, pp. 86-94. 





CHAPTER IV 



THE EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA AND THE OLD 
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE 

(From earliest times to 728 B.C.) 

I. POLITICAL HISTORY 

45. The Tigris and Euphrates Valley ; the Upper and the Lower 
Country. We must now trace the upspringing of civilization in 
Babylonia, " the Asian Egypt." 

As in the case of Egypt, so in that of the Tigris and Euphrates 
valley,'- the physical features of the country exerted a great influence 
upon the history of its ancient peoples. Differences in geological 
structure divide this region into an upper and a lower district ; and 
this twofold division in natural features is reflected, as we shall see, 
throughout its political history. 

The northern part of the valley, the portion that comprised ancient 
Assyria, consists of undulating plains, broken in places by mountain 

* The ancient Greeks gave to the land embraced by the Tigris and the Euphrates 
the name of Mesopotamia, which means literally " the land between or amidst the rivers." 
The name is often loosely applied to the whole Tigris-Euphrates valley. 

Note. The picture at the head of this page shows the Babil Mound, at Babylon, as 
it appeared in iSii. 



§45] THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES VALLEY 49 

ridges. This region nourished a hardy and warlike race, and became 
the seat of a great military empire. 

The southern part of the valley, the part known as Babylonia, is, 
like the Delta region of Egypt, an alluvial deposit. The making of 
new land by the rivers has gone on steadily during historic times. 
The ruins of one of the ancient seaports of the country (Eridu) lie 
over a hundred miles inland from the present head of the Persian 
Gulf. In ancient times much of the land was protected against the 








Fig. 34. AncieiNt Babylonian Canal 

inundations of the rivers, and watered in seasons of drought, by a 
stupendous system of dikes and canals, which at the present day, in 
a ruined and sand-choked condition, cover like a network the face 
of the country. 

The productions of Babylonia are very like those of the Nile valley. 
The luxuriant growth of grain upon these alluvial flats excited the 
wonder of the Greek travelers who visited the Itast. Herodotus will 
not tell the whole truth for fear his veracity may be doubted. It is 
not .strange that tradition should have located here Paradise, that 
primeval garden " out of the ground of which (iod made to grow 
every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." This 



so 



EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§46 



favored plain in a remote period of antiquity became the seat of an 
agricultural, industrial, and commercial population among which the 
arts of civilized life found a development which possibly was as old 
as that of Egypt, and which ran parallel with it. 

46. The Babylonian a Mixed Culture. In ancient times the part of 
Babylonia in the south near the gulf was called Sumer and the part 
in the north Akkad. The first inhabitants of Sumer, known from 
the name of the land as Sumerians, were of non-Semitic race. They 




Map of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley 



had already, when they appear in history, emerged from the Stone 
Age and were using utensils of copper. They possessed a system 
of writing and other arts of a comparatively advanced culture. It 
was this people who laid in the main the basis of civilization in the 
Euphrates valley. 

About the same time that the Sumerians were establishing them- 
selves in the south, there came into Akkad in the north — such 
appears to have been the course of events — Semitic immigrants 
from Arabia. These peoples were nomadic in habits, and altogether 
much less cultured than the Sumerians. Gradually gaining ascendancy, 
they took over the Sumerian culture and developed it. They retained, 



§47] 



THE AGE OF CITY-KINGDOMS 



51 




however, their own language, which in the course of time superseded 
the Sumerian speech. The union of the two races gave rise to the 
Babylonians of history, and their mixed culture formed what is 
known as the Babylonian civilization. 

47. The Age of City-Kingdoms (fourth and third millenniums B.C.). 
When the light of history first falls upon the Mesopotamian lands, 
in the later centuries of the fourth millennium B.C., it reveals the 
lower river plain filled with independent walled cities like those which 
we find later in Palestine, Greece, and Italy. Each city had its patron 
god, and was ruled by a 
prince bearing the title 
of king or lord. 

From the tablets of 
the old Babylonian tem- 
ple archives (sect. 53), 
patient scholars are 
slowly deciphering the 
wonderful story of these 
ancient cities. The polit- 
ical side of their history 
may, for our present purpose, be summarized by saying that for a 
period of two thousand years and more their records, so far as they 
have become known to us, are annals of wars waged for supremacy 
by one city and its gods against other cities and their gods. 

Of all the kings whose names have been recovered from the monu- 
ments we shall here mention only one — Sargon I (about 2775 b. c.^), 
the " Menes of Chaldea," a Semitic king of Akkad, whose reign 
forms a great landmark in early Babylonian annals. He built up a 
powerful state in Babylonia and carried his arms to " the land of 
the setting sun " (Syria). It is possible that he even extended his 
authority to the island of Cyprus. An eminent historian of the East 
calls his kingdom " the first world-kingdom known to history." 



Fig. 35. Impression of a Seal of Sargon I 
(Date about 2800 B.C.) 

" Must be ranked among the masterpieces of Oriental 
engraving." — Maspero 



1 The earlier date for this king, which was formerly accepted on the evidence of 
the so-called Npbonidus Cylinder, has been discredited by recent discoveries, which 
show that several of the early d)aiasties once supposed to be consecutive were really 
contemporaneous . 



52 



EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§48 



48. The Rise of Babylon : Hammurabi and the Old Babylonian 
Empire. From the remotest times the city-states of Babylonia had 
for enemies the kings of Elam, a country bordering Babylonia on the 
east, and of which Susa was the capital. For centuries at a time the 
Elamite kings held the cities of the plain in a state of more or less 
complete vassalage. Their dominion was finally broken by a king of 
Babylon, a city which had been gradually rising into prominence, 
and which was to give to the whole country the name by which 

it is best known — Babylonia. 
The name of this king was 
Hammurabi (about 2 1 oo b. c). 
He united under his rule all 
the cities of Babylonia, and 
thus became the true maker 
of what is known as the Old 
Babylonian Empire. 

Harhmurabi has been called 
the Babylonian Moses, for the 
reason that he promulgated a 
code of laws which in some 
respects is remarkably like the 
Mosaic code of the Hebrews. Concerning this oldest system of laws 
in the world we shall say something a little farther on (sect. 60). 

49. The Old Babylonian Empire Eclipsed by the Rising Assyrian 
Empire. For more than fifteen hundred years after Hammurabi, 
Babylon continued to be the political and commercial center of an 
empire of varying fortunes, of changing dynasties, and of shifting 
frontiers. This long history, still only very imperfectly known to 
us, we pass without notice. 

Meanwhile a Semitic power had been slowly developing in the 
north. This was the Assyrian Empire, thus called from Assur 
(Ashur), its early royal city. Later, the city of Nineveh grew to be 
its populous center and capital. The earlier rulers of Assyria were 
vassals of the kings of Babylonia ; but late in the eighth century b. c. 
Babylonia was conquered by an Assyrian king, and from that time on 
to 625 B.C. the country was for the most part under Assyrian control. 




Fig. 36. UooR Socket of Sargon I 



§50j REMAINS OF THE BABYLONIAN CITIES 53 

II. ARTS AND GENERAL CULTURE 

50. Remains of the Babylonian Cities and Public Buildings. The 
Babylonian plains are dotted with enormous mounds, generally in- 
closed by vast ramparts of earth. These heaps are the remains 
of the great walled cities, the palaces and shrines of the ancient 
Babylonians. The peculiar nature of these ruins arises from the 
character of the ancient Babylonian edifices and the kind of material 
used in their construction. 

In the first place, in order to secure for their temples and palaces 
a firm foundation on the water-soaked land, as well as to lend to 
them a certain dignity and to render them more easily defended, the 
Babylonian kings raised their public buildings on enormous plat- 
forms of earth or adobe. These substructures were often many 
acres in extent and were raised generally to a height of forty or 
more feet above the level of the plain. 

Upon these immense platforms were built the temples of the gods 
and the palaces of the king. The country affording neither timber 
nor stone, recourse was usually had to sun-dried bricks as the chief 
building material, burnt brick being used, in the main, only for the 
outer casing of the walls. The buildings were one-storied, with thick 
and heavy walls. Often the lower portion of the walls of the chief 
courts and chambers were paneled with glazed bricks. 

In their decay these edifices have sunk down into great heaps of 
earth which the storms of centuries have furrowed with deep ravines, 
giving many of them the appearance of natural ruin-crowned hills 
— for which, in truth, some of the earlier visitors to Babylonia 
mistook them. 

51. Excavations and Discoveries. About the middle of the nine- 
teenth century some mounds of the upper country, near and on the 
site of ancient Nineveh, were excavated, and the world was astonished 
to see rising as from the tomb the palaces of the great Assyrian kings 
(sect. 68). This was the beginning of excavations and discoveries in 
the Mesopotamian lands which during the past half century have re- 
stored the history of long-forgotten empires, reconstructed the history 
of the Orient, and given us a new beginning for universal history. 



54 



EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§52 



Some of the most important finds in Babylonia were made during 
the closing years of the nineteenth century by the expedition of the 
University of Pennsylvania, on the site of the ancient Nippur. The 
excavation here of the ruins of the great temple of Bel brought to 
light memorials which prove that this city was one of the religious 
centers of the old Babylonian world for more than three thousand 




Fig. 37. Excavation showing Pavements in a Court of the Temple 
OF Bel at Nippur. (After Hilprecht) 

The lower pavement, marked " i," was put down by Sargon I and Naram-Sin (about 

2800 B.C.), and the upper one, marked " 5," by the Assyrian king Ashur-bani-pal (668- 

626 ? B.C.). The pavements are thus separated by a period of over 2000 years 

years — a period a thousand years longer than that during which 
Rome has been the religious center of Catholic Christendom. 

52. Cuneiform "Writing. The most valuable things that have been 
unearthed in Babylonia are the old libraries and temple archives. 
But to appreciate the import of this a word is here necessary con- 
cerning the Babylonian system of writing and its decipherment. 

From the earliest period known to us, the Babylonians were in 
possession of a system of phonetic writing. To this system the 



§52] 



CUNEIFORM WRITING 



55 



term cuneiform (from cuneiis, a "wedge") has been given on account 
of its wedge-shaped characters. The signs assumed this peculiar 

Fig. 38. Cuneiform Writing 
Translation : " Five thousand mighty cedars I spread for its roof " 

form from being impressed upon soft clay tablets with an angular 
writing instrument (stylus). 

This system of writing had been developed out of an earlier 
system of picture writing, as is plainly shown by a comparison of 



MEANING 


OUTLINE 
CHARACTER, 
B. C. 3500 


ARCHAIC 
CUNEIFORM, 
B. C. 2500 


ASSYRIAN, 
B. C. 700 


UTE 

BABYLONIAN, 

B. C. 500 


I. 


The sun 


<> 


r> 


^J 


^ 


2. 


God, heaven 


^ 


►^ 


»f— 


H^ 


3- 


Mountain 


8 


^< 


V 


^ 


4- 


Man 


/WTK 


^^fe- 


m- 


^ 




5- 


Ox 


^ 


!^ 


^\ 


^i 


6. 


Fish 


^ 


4 


}}< 


f.K 



Fig. 39. Table showing the Development of the Cuneiform Writing 

(After A'/ug) 

the earlier with the later forms of the characters (Fig. 39). The 
Babylonians never developed the system beyond the syllabic stage 



56 



EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§53 




(sect. ii). They employed a syllabary of between four and five 

hundred signs.^ 

This mode of writing was in use among the peoples of western 

Asia from before 3000 B.C. down to the first century of our era. 
Thus for three thousand years it was just 
such an important factor in the earlier civili- 
zations of the ancient world as the Phoeni- 
cian alphabet in its various forms has been 
during the last three thousand years in the 
civilizations of all the peoples of culture, 
save those of eastern Asia. 

53. Books and Archives. The writing 
material of the Babylonians was usually 
clay tablets of various sizes. Those holding 
contracts of special importance, after hav- 
ing been once written upon and baked, 
were covered with a thin coating of clay, 
and then the matter was written in dupli- 
cate and the tablets again baked. If the 
outer writing were defaced by accident or 

altered by design, the removal of the outer coating would at once 

show the true text. 

The tablets were carefully preserved in 

great public archives, which sometimes formed 

an adjunct of the temple of some specially 

revered deity. The temple archives found at 

Telloh contained over thirty thousand tablets. 
54. The Decipherment of the Cuneiform 

Writing ; the Contents of the Tablets. Just 

as the key to the Egyptian writing was found 

by means of bilingual inscriptions, so was the key to the cuneiform 

script discovered by means of trilingual inscriptions, among which 

was a very celebrated one cut by a Persian king on the so-called 

Behistun Rock (sect. 104). Credit for the decipherment of the 

1 The Persians at a much later time borrowed the system and developed it into a 
purely alphabetic one. Their alphabet consisted of thirty-six characters. 



Fig. 



40. Babylonian 
Tablet 




Fig. 41. Contract 
Tablet 

The outer case has been 

broken to show the inner 

version 



§55] THE RELIGION 57 

difficult writing, and thereby the opening up to us of the records of 
a long buried civilization, is divided among several scholars.-^ 

The tablets cover the greatest variety of subjects. There are 
mythological tablets, which hold the myths and tales of the Baby- 
lonian gods ; religious tablets, filled with prayers and hymns ; legal 
tablets, containing laws, contracts, wills, and various other matters of 
a commercial nature ; and astronomical, historical, and mathematical 
tablets — all revealing a very highly developed society. We will say 
just a word of what the tablets reveal respecting the religion and 
mythology of the Babylonians, and of the state of the sciences 
among them. 

55. The Religion. The tablets hold a large religious literature, 
which forms one of the earliest and most instructive chapters in the 
religious history of mankind. At the earliest period made known to 
us by the native records, we find the pantheon, like the Egyptian, 
to embrace many powerful nature gods and local deities — the patron 
gods ^ of the different cities. Besides the great gods there was a vast 
multitude of lesser gods. 

The most prominent feature from first to last of the popular 
religion was a belief in spirits, particularly in wicked spirits, and 
the practice of magic rites and incantations to avert the malign 
influence of these demons. 

A second most important feature of the religion was what is 
known as astrology, or the foretelling of events by the aspects 
of the stars. This side of the religious system was, in the later 
Chaldean period, most elaborately and ingeniously developed until 
the fame of the Chaldean astrologers was spread throughout the 
ancient world. 

Alongside these low beliefs and superstitious practices there existed, 
however, higher and purer elements. This is best illustrated by the 

1 Copies of trilingual inscriptions — written in Persian, Susian, and Babylonian — 
were brought from Persepolis to Europe at the end of the eighteenth century. The 
clue to the decipherment of the Persian text was found by Grotefend in 1802. He 
identified the names of Darius, Hystaspes, and Xerxes, the word for king, and nine 
of the thirty-nine signs. In 1835 Sir Henry C. Kawlinson copied a longer inscription in 
these same languages made by Darius on the rock at Behistun. Independently he 
arrived at the same conclusions as Grotefend. 



58 EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§56 

"so-called penitential psalms, dating, some of them, from the second 
millennium B.C., which breathe a spirit like that which pervades the 
penitential psalms of the Old Testament.^ 

The most instructive fact for us to note respecting this old Baby- 
lonian religion is the influence which it had upon the culture of later 
ages. For the most part this influence was of a baneful character, 
for it was chiefly the lower elements of the system — magic, sorcery, 
and astrology — which were absorbed by the borrowing nations of 
the West. Thus astrology among the later Romans and the popular 
beliefs of the Middle Ages in regard to evil spirits, exorcisms, 
charms, witches, and the devil were in large part an inheritance 
from old Babylonia. Much of this wretched heritage was trans- 
mitted from the East to the Western world at the same time that 
Christianity came in from Judea. 

56. Ideas of the Future Life. The beliefs of the Babylonians 
respecting the other v/orld were in strange contrast to those of the 
Egyptians. In truth, they gave but little thought to the after life; 
and it is no wonder that they did not like to keep the subject in 
mind, for in general they imagined the life after death to be most 
sad and doleful. The abode of the dead (Aralu), the " dark land," 
the " land of no return," was a dusky region beneath the earth. 
Bats flitted about in the dim light ; dust was upon the lintels of 
the barred doors ; the souls drowsed in their places ; their food was 
dust and mud. 

There was no judgment of the dead as among the Egyptians. 
There was no distinction, in the case of the great multitude,'' 
between the good and the bad; the same lot awaited all who went 
down to death. 

1 A few lines of such a psalm follow : 

O my god who art angry with me, accept my prayer. 



May my sins be forgiven, my transgressions be wiped out. 

[May] flowing waters of the stream wash me clean. 
Let me be pure lilie the sheen of gold. 

Jastrow, T!ie Religion of Bahylotiia and Assyria, p. 323 

2 There was a sort of Elysium, like that of the Greeks, for men of great deeds and 
great piety. 



§57] 



THE TEMPLE AND THE PEOPLE 



59 



57. The Place of the Temple in the Life of the People. Religion 
among the Babylonians, as among all the peoples of antiquity, was 
largely an affair of the state. A chief care and duty of the king 
was the erection and repair of the 
temples and shrines of the gods.^ 

The temples were much more than 
abodes of the gods and places of 
worship. Besides the chambers for 
the priest, storerooms for the prod- 
ucts of the temple lands, and stables 
for the animals for the sacrifices, there 
were attached to many of the temples 
schools, which were in charge of the 
priests and scribes. The courts of 
the temples were also places for the 
transaction of all manner of business. 
All kinds of contracts were drawn up 
by the temple scribes and copies of 
the same deposited for safe-keeping 
in the temple archives. An immense 
number of these contract tablets have 
been found, so that we now have 
probably a better knowledge of the 
commercial affairs of the old Babylo- 
nians than of those of any other 
people of antiquity. 

Many of the temples, like the 
churches and monasteries of medi- 
aeval Europe, were richly endowed 
with lands and other property. In- 
deed, the gods were the largest landowners in the state. The god 
Bel at Nippur seems to have owned a great part of the city and 
its lands. 




Fig. 42. DioRiTE Seated 

Statue of Gudea, Ruler of 

Lagash (Shirpurla). (Museum 

of the Louvre) 

Gudea reigned about 2450 B.C. He 
was a great builder, and his inscrip- 
tions dwell chiefly upon his pious 
labors in the restoration and beauti- 
fying of the old city-temples 



1 A peculiar architectural feature of the later temple was an immense zigg2irai, or 
tower, which ordinarily consisted of a number of stages or platforms raised one upon 
another in the form of a great step pyramid. 



6o 



EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§58 




58. The Epic of Creation or the Babylonian Genesis. A great part 
of Babylonian literature was of Sumerian origin and dates from the 
third millennium B. c. In what is called the Creation Epic, which has 
been recovered in a fragmentary state from the cuneiform tablets, 
we have the Babylonian version of the creation of the heavens and 
the earth by the great god Marduk. 

This story of the creation is told with many variations in the litera- 
ture of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Tbese tales present certain 

resemblances to the account 
of the creation given in the 
Sacred Scriptures of the 
Hebrews. But there are 
striking differences which 
it is instructive to notice. 
The Bible account, in con- 
trast with the Babylonian 
tales, is divested of all poly- 
theistic elements, and is 
moralized, that is, so told 
as to cause it to become a means of moral instruction. 

59. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Besides the Creation Epic the Baby- 
lonians had a large number of other heroic and nature myths. The 
most noted of these form what is known as the Epic of Gilgamesh,^ 
the Babylonian Heracles. This is doubtless the oldest epic of the 
race. It held some such place in Babylonian literature and art as the 
cycle of legends making up the epic of the Trojan War held in the 
literature and art of the Greeks. Echoes of it reached the ^gean 
lands and helped to mold the Greek story of Heracles (sect. 138). 

60. Legislation: the Code of Hammurabi. In 1901-1902 the 
French excavators at Susa, in the ancient Elam, discovered a block 
of stone upon which was inscribed the code of laws set up by 

1 The epic is made up of a great variety of material. One of the stories of greatest 
interest is that of the Deluge, of which there are several versions in Babylonian litera- 
ture. The oldest of these was discovered recently (in 1913) by Dr. Arno Poebel among 
the Nippur tablets in the Museum of Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania. 
The tablet holding this version is believed to date from 1850 or igoo B.C. See Jastrow, 
Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions (1914), p. 335- 



Fig. 43. Writing-exercise Tablets of a 
Child. (Found at Nippur; after Hilprecht) 



§60] LEGISLATION: THE CODE OF HAMMURABI 6i 



Hammurabi, king of Babylon, just at the close of the third mil- 
lennium B.C. (sect. 48). This is the oldest system of laws known 
to us. It is evidently, in large part at least, merely a collection 
of earlier laws and ancient customs. 

The code casts a strong side light upon the Babylonian life of the 
period when it was compiled, and thus constitutes one of the most 
valuable monuments spared to 
us from the old Semitic world. 
It defined the rights and duties 
of husband and wife, master 
and slave, of merchants, gar- 
deners, tenants, shepherds — 
of all the classes which made 
up the population of the Baby- 
lonian Empire. As in the case 
of the later Hebrew code, the 
principle of retaliation deter- 
mined the penalty for injury 
done another ; it was an eye 
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, 
and a limb for a limb. 

The owner of a vicious ox 
which had pushed or gored a 
man was required to pay a 
heavy fine, provided he knew 
the disposition of the creature 
and had not blunted its horns 
(see Exod. xxi, 28-32). 

The law fixed prices and wages, the hire for boats and wagons 
and of oxen for threshing, the fee of the surgeon, the wages of the 
brickmaker, of the tailor, of the carpenter, and of other artisans. 

There were also provisions forbidding under severe penalties the 
harboring of runaway slaves — provisions which read strangely like 
our own fugitive-slave laws of a half century and more ago. 

For more than two thousand years after its compilation this code 
of laws was in force in the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, and 




Fig. 44. Hammurabi Receiving the 
Code from the Sun-god 

" Hammurabi places as the headpiece of the 
monument containing the laws of the country 
an effigy of himself in an attitude of adoration 
before Shamash, 'The Judge,' as the ultimate 
source of the laws." — Jastrow 



62 EARLY CITY-KINGDOMS OF BABYLONIA [§61 

even after this lapse of time it was used as a textbook in the schools 
of the Mesopotamian lands. Probably no other code save the Mosaic 
or the Roman Civil Code has exerted a greater influence upon human 
society. " As the oldest body of laws in existence," says an eminent 
Assyrian scholar, " it marks a great epoch in the world's history, and 
must henceforth form the starting point for the systematic study 
of historic jurisprudence." 

61. Sciences : Astronomy, the Calendar, and Mathematics. In 
astronomy the Babylonians made greater advance than the Egyptians. 
Their knowledge of the heavens came about from their interest as 
astrologers in the stars. They divided the zodiac into twelve signs 
and named the zodiacal constellations, a memorial of their astronomi- 
cal attainments which will remain forever inscribed upon the great 
circle of the heavens ; they foretold eclipses of the sun and moon ; 
they invented the sundial ; they divided the year into twelve months, 
the day and night into hours, and the hours into minutes, and devised 
a week of seven days.^ 

In the mathematical sciences, also, the Babylonians made consider- 
able advance. A tablet has been found which contains the squares 
and cubes of the numbers from one to sixty. The duodecimal system 
in numbers was the invention of the Babylonians, and it is from them 
that the system has come to us. 

The Babylonians invented measures of length, weight, and capacity. 
It was from them that all the peoples of antiquity derived their systems 
of weight and measure. Aside from letters, these are perhaps the 
most indispensable agents in the life of a people after they have 
risen above the lowest levels of barbarism. 

Selections from the Sources. Jastrow's The Ck'ilizatiojt of Babylonia atid 
Assyria, pp. 453-461. Harper's Assyrian and Babylonian Literature (selected 
translations), pp. 408-413, " Ishtar's Descent to Hades" (this is one of the 
choicest pieces of Babylonian literature). Sayce's Early Israel and the Sur- 
rounding JVations, pp. 313-319, "The Babylonian Account of the Deluge" 
(this can be found also in Smith's The Chaldean Accoutit of Genesis, chap, xvi, 
and in Jastrow's The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 443-452). The 

1 This week of seven days was a subdivision of the moon-month, based on the phases 
of the moon, namely, new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter. 



REFERENCES 63 

Code of Hammurabi, in either the Johns or the Harper translation (" The 
Code of Hammurabi is one of the most important monuments of the human 
race." — Johns). 

References (Modern). Maspero, The Dawn of Civilization, chaps, vii-ix, 
and The Stncggle of the Nations, chap. i. KiNG, History of Akkad and Sumer 
and A History of Babylon. Rogers, History of Babylonia and Assyria, vol. i. 
HoMMEL, The Civilization of the East. GOODSPEED, A History of the Baby- 
lonians and Assyrians, pts. i, ii. Peters, Nippur, 2 vols. Jastrow, The 
Religio7t of Babylonia and Assyria and Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions. 
King, Babylojiian Religion and Mythology. Sayce, Social Life among the 
Assyrians and Babylonians. Perrot and Chipiez, A History of Art itt 
Chaldcea and Assyria, 2 vols. Hall, The Ancient History of the Near 
East, chap. v. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. French excavations at Tello : Hilprecht, 
Explorations in Bible Lands, pp. 216-260. 2. American excavations at Nippur: 
Peters, AUppur, vol. ii, chaps, ii-x ; Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, 
pp. 289-568. 3. The temple archives : Jastrow, The Civilization of Baby- 
lonia and Assyria, pp. 316-318. 4. Moral maxims and penitential psalms: 
Jastrow, The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 464-465, 469—474. 




CHAPTER V 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



(From an unknown date to 606 B.C.) 



I. POLITICAL HISTORY 



62. Introduction. In the preceding chapter we traced the begin- 
nings of civilization among the early settlers of the lowlands of the 
Euphrates. Meanwhile, as has already been noticed, farther to the 
north, upon the banks of the Tigris, were growing into strength and 
prominence a rival Semitic people — the Assyrians. Of the place in 
world history of the empire represented by this people we must now 
try to form some sort of idea. 

The story of Assyria is in the main a story of the Assyrian kings. 
And it is a story of ruthless war, which made the Assyrian kings 
the scourge of antiquity. To relate this story with any measure of 
detail would involve endless repetition of the royal records of pillag- 
ing raids and punitive campaigns in all the countries of western 
Asia. We shall therefore speak of only two or three of the great 
kings of the later empire whose energy as conquerors or ability as 
organizers, or whose munificence as builders and patrons of arts and 
letters, has caused their names to live among the renowned personages 
of the ancient world. 

64 



§63] TIGLATH-PILESER IV 65 

63. Tiglath-Pileser IV ^ (745-727 B.C.). One of the greatest of the 
later kings was Tiglath-Pileser IV. He was a man of great energy 
and of undoubted military talent. The empire which had been built 
up by earlier kings having fallen into disorder, he restored the Assyrian 
power and extended the limits of the emoire even beyond its former 
boundaries. 

But what renders the reign of this king a landmark not only in 
Assyrian, but, we may almost say, in universal history, is the fact that 
he was not a mere conqueror like his predecessors, but a political 
organizer of great capacity. 

Hitherto the empires that had arisen in western Asia consisted 
simply of tributary or vassal cities and states, each of which, having 
its own king, was ready at the first favorable moment to revolt 
against its suzerain, who, like a mediaeval feudal king, was simply 
a great overlord, a " king of kings." 

Now Tiglath-Pileser, though not the first to introduce, was the first 
to put into practice in a large way, the plan of reducing conquered 
states to provinces ; that is, instead of allowing conquered princes 
to rule as his vassals, he put in their places Assvrian magistrates, or 
viceroys, upon whose loyalty he could depend. 

This system gave a more compact and permanent character to his 
conquests. It is true he was not able to carry out his system per- 
fectly ; but in realizing the plan to the extent that he did, he laid 
the basis of the power and glory of the great kings who followed 
him upon the Assyrian throne, and made the later Assyrian Empire, 
to a certain degree, the prototype of the succeeding world empires 
of Darius, Alexander, and Caesar. 

64. Sargon II (722-705 B.C.). Sargon II was a great conqueror and 
builder. In 722 B.C. he captured Samaria, the siege of which had 
been commenced by his predecessor, and carried away the most influ- 
ential classes of the "Ten Tribes" of Israel into captivity^ (sect. 84). 
The greater portion of the captives were scattered among the towns 

1 Formerly Tiglath-Pileser III. Since the first revised edition of this work evidence 
has come to light which proves this Tiglath-Pileser to have been the fourth instead of, 
as hitherto supposed, the third to bear this name. 

^ 2 Kings xvii, 6. 

EN 



66 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



[§6S 



— ti^sa^i'- t^JtaE 







of Media and Mesopotamia, and probably became, for the most part, 
merged with the population of those regions. 

This transplanting of a conquered people was a regular govern- 
mental device of the Assyrian kings. It was done not only in order 
that conspiracy and revolt should be rendered virtually impossible, 
but also in order that, with the old ties of country and home thus 
severed, the rising generation might the more easily forget past 
wrongs and old traditions and customs, and become blended with the 

peoples about them. 
Sargon was a fa- 
mous builder. Near 
the foot of the hills 
rimming the Tigris 
valley on the north- 
east he founded a 
large city, which he 
named for himself ; 
and there he erected 
a royal residence, 
described in the in- 
scriptions as " a pal- 
ace of incomparable 
magnificence," the 
site of which is now marked by the mounds of Khorsabad (sect. 68). 
65. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.). Sargon was followed by his son 
Sennacherib, whose name, connected as it is with the history of 
Jerusalem and with many of the most wonderful discoveries among 
the ruined palaces of Nineveh, has become as familiar as that of 
Nebuchadnezzar in the story of Babylon. 

The fullness of the royal inscriptions of this reign enables us to 
permit Sennacherib to tell us in his own words of his great works 
and military expeditions. Respecting the decoration of Nineveh, of 
which he was the chief builder, he writes : "I raised again all the 
edifices of Nineveh, my royal city ; I reconstructed all its old streets, 
and widened those that were too narrow. I made the whole town a 
city shining like the sun." 



Fig. 45. Restoration of Sargon's Palace at 
Khorsabad. (From Place, Ninive et VAssyne) 

The royal residence consisted of a complex of halls and 

chambers surrounding a number of courts, large and small. 

The stepped pyramid is a ziggurat, or temple-tower 



§65] 



SENNACHERIB 



67 



Concerning an expedition against Hezekiah, king of Judah, he 
says : "I took forty-six of his strong fenced cities ; and of the 
smaller towns which were scattered about I took and plundered a 
countless number. And from these places I captured and carried off 
as spoil 200,150 people, old and young, male and female, together 
with horses and mares, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a count- 
less multitude. And Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his 
capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to 




Fig. 46. Transport of a Winged Bull. (From Layard's 
Monumetits of Nineveh) 

While hundreds pull on the ropes, others place rollers beneath the sled, and still others 
aid with a great lever behind 

hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates, so as to 
prevent escape." ^ 

In this recital Sennacherib conceals the fact that his siege of the 
strong city of Jerusalem remained fruitless ; according to the Hebrew 
account^ the Assyrian host was smitten by " the angel of the Lord,"* 
and the king returned with a shattered army and without glory to his 
capital Nineveh. 

Sennacherib laid a heavy hand upon Babylon, which at this time 
was the leading city of the lower country. That city having revolted, 

1 From the so-called Taylor Cylinder; translation by Sir H. Rawlinson (Rawlinson, 
Ancient Monarchies, vol. ii, p. 161). A translation by Professor Rogers can be found in 
Records of ike Past (New Series), vol. vi, p. 90. 2 2 Kings xi.x, 35-37. 

3 This expression is a Hebraism, meaning often any physical cause of destruction, 
as a plague or a storm. In the present case the destroying agency was probably a 
pestilence. 



68 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



[§66 




Sennacherib captured the place, and, as his inscription declares, 
destroyed it " root and branch," casting the rubbish into the " River 
of Babylon."^ 

66. Ashur-bani-pal (668-626 B.C.). This king, the Sardanapalus of 
the Greeks, is distinguished for his magnificent patronage of art and 
letters (sect. 70). His reign was also marked by important military 
operations. Egypt having revolted,^ he brought it again into subjec- 
tion to Assyria. Elam, 
in punishment for its 
hostility, was made an 
awful example of his 
vengeance ; its cities 
were leveled, and the 
whole country was 
laid waste, All the 
scenes of his sieges 
and battles he caused 
to be sculptured on 
the walls of his palace 
at Nineveh. These 
pictured panels are 
now in the British 
Museum. They are a 
perfect Iliad in stone. 

67. The Fall of Nineveh (606 B.C.). A ruler named by the Greek 
writers Saracus was the last of the long line of Assyrian kings. For 
nearly or quite six centuries the Ninevite kings had now lorded it over 
the East. There was scarcely a state in all western Asia that during 
this time had not, in the language of the royal inscriptions, " borne the 
heavy yoke of their lordship " ; scarcely a people that had not suffered 
their cruel punishments or tasted the bitterness of enforced exile. 

But now swift misfortunes were bearing down from every quarter 
upon the oppressor. First, wild Scythians from the north ravaged 



Fig. 47. An Assyrian Kelek. (After Layard) 

A kind of raft (depicted on the Assyrian monuments) 
used by the ancient Assyrians for floating grain, stone, 
etc., down the Mesopotamian rivers. It consisted of a 
framework of poles supported by a great number of in- 
flated goat-skins. On arrival at its destination the raft was 
taken to pieces, the wood sold, and the skins carried back 
on asses. Exactly the same system of transportation is 
employed on the Tigris to-day. The swimmer in the pic- 
ture is astride an inflated skin 



1 The city was rebuilt by Sennacherib's son and successor Esarhaddon I (680-668 B.C.). 

2 Egypt had been conquered and brought under Assyrian rule by Sennacherib's son 
Esarhaddon. Northern Arabia had also been added to the empire by him. 



§68] ASSYRIAN EXCAVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES 69 



the Assyrian lands far and wide. After this weakening of the state, 
Egypt revolted and tore Syria away from the empire. In the south- 
ern lowlands the Babylonians also rose in revolt, while from the 
mountain defiles on the east issued 
the armies of the recent-grown empire 
of the Aryan Medes, led by the re- 
nowned Cyaxares, and laid close siege 
to Nineveh. 

The city was finally taken and sacked, 
and dominion passed away forever from 
the proud capital (606 B.C.). Two hun- 
dred years later, when Xenophon with 
his Ten Thousand Greeks, in his 
memorable retreat (sect. 265), passed 
the spot, the once great city was a 
crumbling mass of ruins and its name 
had been forgotten. 

II. THE CIVILIZATION 



68. Assyrian Excavations and Dis- 
coveries. In Assyria there are many 
mounds like those in Babylonia. These 
mark the sites of the old Assyrian 
cities ; for though stone in this upper 
country is abundant, the Assyrians, 
under the influence of Babylonia, used 
mainly sun-dried bricks in the construc- 
tion of their buildings.^ Hence in their 
decay the Assyrian edifices have left 
just such earth-mounds as those which 
form the tombs of the old Babylonian 
cities and temples. 




Fig. 



48. An Assyrian King 
AND HIS Captives 



The captives are held by hook and 
bridle in nose and lips. The sculp- 
ture thus depicting this cruel prac- 
tice of the Assyrian kings is a vivid 
illustration of these words of the 
prophet Isaiah: "Therefore will I 
put my hook in thy nose, and my 
bridle in thy lips." — Isa. xxxvii, 29 



1 Stone, when employed, was used mainly for decorative purposes and for the 
foundation of walls. Because of the freer use of stone by the Assyrian architect and 
sculptor (sect. 69), the Assyrian ruins have yielded far more monuments than the 
Babylonian. 



70 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



[§69 



In 1 843-1 844 M. Botta, the French consul at Mosul on the 
Tigris, excavated the mound at Khorsabad, and astonished the world 
with most wonderful specimens of Assyrian art from the palace of 
Sargon II. The sculptured and lettered slabs were removed to the 
museum of the Louvre, in Paris. In 1845-185 1 Layard disentombed 
the palace of Sennacherib and those of other kings at Nineveh 
and Calah (the earliest capital of the Assyrian kingdom), and 
enriched the British Museum with the treasures of his search. 




Fig. 49. Excavating an Assyrian Palace. (After Layard) 



69. Assyrian Palaces and their Wall Sculptures. The Assyrian 
kings paid more attention to the royal residence than to the temples 
of the gods, though they were by no means neglectful of the latter. 
In imitation of the Babylonian sovereigns they built their palaces 
and temples upon artificial terraces or platforms. The great palace 
mound at Nineveh covers an area of about one hundred acres, and 
is sixty or seventy feet in height. Upon this mound stood several 
of the most splendid palaces of the Ninevite kings. 

The group of buildings constituting the royal residence was often 
of enormous extent ; the various courts, halls, and chambers of the 



§70] 



THE ROYAL LIBRARY AT NINEVEH 



71 



palace of Sennacherib, which surmounted the great platform at 
Nineveh, covered an area of twenty acres. The palaces were one- 
storied. The rooms and galleries were plastered with stucco, paneled 
with precious woods, or lined with enameled bricks. The main halls, 
however, and the great open courts were faced with slabs of ala- 
baster, covered with sculptures and inscriptions, the illustrated nar- 
rative of the wars and the labors of the monarch. There were nearly 
two miles of such sculptured paneling at Kuyunjik. At the portals, to 
guard the approach, were stationed the colossal human-headed bulls. 
The human figures of the wall 
carvings are generally stiff 
and without special artistic 
merit, but some of the animal 
sculptures, as is often the case 
in primitive art (see sect. 4), 
are of surprising excellence. 
The hunting pictures are 
particularly fine and strong. 
" There are animals among 
these hunting scenes," affirms 

the sculptor Lorado Taft, " that have never been surpassed by the 
sculptors of any age or country." 

70. The Royal Library at Nineveh. Within the palace of Ashur- 
bani-pal at Nineveh was discovered what is known as the Royal 
Library, the largest and most important library of the old Semitic 
world, from which over twenty thousand tablets were taken. We 
learn from the inscriptions that a librarian had charge of the col- 
lection. Catalogues of the books have been found, made out on 
clay tablets. Respecting the purpose of the library an inscription 
says, " I [Ashur-bani-pal] wrote upon the tablets ; I placed them in 
my palace for the instruction of my people." 

The greater part of the tablets were copies of older Babylonian 
works ; for the literature of the Assyrians, as well as their arts and 
sciences, was borrowed almost in a body from the Babylonians.'^ All 




Fig. 50. Emblem of Ashur, the 
Supreme Deity of Assyria 



1 The relations of Assyria to Babylonian civilization may be illustrated by the 
relations of Rome (also a military empire) to Greek culture. 



72 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



[§71 



the old temple libraries of the lower country were ransacked by the 
agents of Ashur-bani-pal, and copies of " the old masters " made for 
the new palace collection at Nineveh. In this way was preserved in 
duplicate a considerable portion of the early Babylonian literature, 
besides historical records, and astronomical, medicinal, and other 
scientific works. The literary treasures secured from the Ninevite 
library are of much greater interest and value to us than those 
yielded by any other Assyrian-Babylonian collection thus far unearthed. 




Fig. 51. Restoration of a Court in Sargon's Palace at Khorsabad 
(After Fergusson) 



71. Cruelty of the Assyrians. The Assyrians have been called 
the " Romans of Asia." They were a proud, warlike, and cruel race. 
The Assyrian kings seem to have surpassed all others in the cruelty 
which characterizes the warfare of the whole ancient Orient. The 
sculptured marbles of their palaces exhibit the hideously cruel tortures 
inflicted by them upon prisoners (Fig. 52). A royal inscription which 
is a fair specimen of many others runs as follows : " The nobles, 
as many as had revolted, I flayed ; with their skins I covered the 
pyramid. . . . Three thousand of their captives I burned with fire. 



§71] 



CRUELTY OF THE ASSYRIANS 



73 



I left not one alive among them to become a hostage. ... I cut off 
the hands [and] feet of some ; I cut off the noses, the ears [and] the 
fingers of others ; the eyes of the numerous soldiers I put out. . . . 
Their young men [and] their maidens I burned as a holocaust."^ 




Fig. 52. Assyrians Flaying Prisoners Alive. (From a bas-relief) 

The significant thing here is that the king exults in having done 
these things and thinks to immortalize himself by portraying them 
upon imperishable stone. The careful way in which to-day all refer- 
ence to atrocities of this character, when in the fury of battle they 




Fig. 53. Lion Hunt. (From Nineveh) 

are inflicted upon an enemy, are suppressed by those responsible for 
them, and the indignant condemnation of them by the public opinion 
of the civilized world, measures the moral progress humanity has 
made even along those lines on which progress has been so pain- 
fully slow and halting. 

* Records of the Past (New Series), vol. ii, pp. 143 ff- 



74 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE [§ 72 

72. Royal Sports. The Assyrian king gloried in being, like the 
great Nimrod, " a mighty hunter before the Lord." In his inscrip- 
tions the wild beasts he has slain are as carefully enumerated as the 
cities he has captured. The monuments are covered with sculptures 
that represent the king engaged in this favorite royal sport of the 
Orient. We see him slaying lions, bulls, and boars, as well as less 
dangerous animals of the chase, with which the uncultivated tracts 
of the country appear to have abounded. 

73. Services Rendered Civilization by Assyria. Assyria did a work 
like that done by Rome at a later time. Just as Rome welded all 
the peoples of the Mediterranean world into a great empire, and 
then throughout her vast domains scattered the seeds of the civi- 
lization which she had borrowed from vanquished Greece, so did 
Assyria weld into a great empire the innumerable petty warring 
states and tribes of western Asia, and then throughout her extended 
dominions spread the civilization which she had in the main bor- 
rowed from the conquered Babylonians. 

Selections from the Sources. Records of the Past (New Series), vol. v, 
pp. 120-128, "The Nimrud Inscription of Tiglath-Pileser III," on military 
and building operations. Ibid. vol. iv, pp. 38-52, "Inscription on the Obelisk 
of Shalmaneser II," shows the harshness and cruelty of Assyrian warfare. 
This inscription, along with many other selected translations, can also be 
found in Harper's Assyrian and Babylonian Literature. The Old Testament, 
Nahum iii, 18, 19; Zeph. ii, 13-15. 

References (Modern). Maspero, The St7iiggle of the Nations, chap, vi, and 
The Passing of the Etnpires, chaps, i-v. Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies, 
vol. i (last part). Goodspeed, A Histo7y of the Babyloniarts and Assyrians, 
pt. iii. Layard, Nineveh and its Remains. Perrot and Chipiez, A History 
of AH in Chaldcea and Assyria, 2 vols. Rogers, A History of Babylonia and 
Assyria, vol. ii, pp. 1-295. Ragozin, The Story of Assyria. WiNCKLER, The 
History of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 167-310. ri.A.LL, The Aticient History of 
the Near East, chap. x. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Layard's excavations and discoveries: see 
his iVineveh and its Remains. 2. Sargon's palace at Khorsabad : Hilprecht, 
Explorations in Bible Lands, pp. 84-87. 3. Assyrian art: Reinach, Apollo, 
pp. 23-27. 4. Industrial and social life: Goodspeed, A History of the Baby- 
lonians and Assyrians, pp. 71-76. 5. A royal hunting adventure: Maspero, 
Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria, chap. xiv. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE 

(625-538 B.C.) 

74. Babylon becomes again a World Power. Nabopolassar (625- 
605 B.C.) was the founder of what is known as the Chaldean Em- 
pire.^ At first a vassal king, when troubles and misfortunes began 
to thicken about the Assyrian court, he revolted and became inde- 
pendent. Later he entered into an alliance with the Median king 
against his former suzerain (sect. 67). Through the overthrow of 
Nineveh and the break-up of the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian 
state received large accessions of territory. For a short time there- 
after Babylon filled a great place in history. 

75. Nebuchadnezzar II (605-561 B.C.). Nabopolassar was followed 
by his renowned son Nebuchadnezzar, whose gigantic architectural 
works rendered Babylon the wonder of the ancient world. 

Jerusalem, having repeatedly revolted, was finally taken and 
sacked (sect. 85). The temple was stripped of its sacred vessels 
of silver and gold, which were carried away to Babylon, and the 
temple itself was given to the flames ; a part of the people were 
also carried away into the "Great Captivity" (586 B.C.). 

With Jerusalem subdued, Nebuchadnezzar pushed with all his 
forces the siege of the Phoenician city of Tyre, whose investment 
had been commenced several years before. In striking language 
the prophet Ezekiel (xxi.x, 18) describes the length and hardness 
of the siege : " Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was 
peeled." After thirteen years Nebuchadnezzar was apparently forced 
to raise the siege. 

1 Called also the New Babylonian Empire. Nabopolassar represented the Chaldeans 
(Kaldu), a people whose home was on the Persian Gulf, and who made themselves 
gradually masters of Babylon. 

75 



y6 



THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE 



[§75 



Nebuchadnezzar sought to rival even the Pharaohs in the execu- 
tion of immense works requiring a vast expenditure of human labor. 
Among his works were the Great Palace in the royal quarter of 



^_ n n R n R R fij-i n n npyijyiMiwl 




Fig. 54. Restoration of the Southern Citadel of Babylon. (From 
Koldewey's Excavations at Babylon) 

The citadel of Babylon was an artificial mound surrounded with stupendous walls and 
crowned with the royal residence and other buildings. The upper left-hand portion of 
the cut shows the restored palace of Nebuchadnezzar with its three great courts. Near 
the center of the picture is seen the famous Ishtar Gate — a double towered-gateway. 
Its walls were decorated with an immense number of animals in relief. The round inset 
shows the excavated towers. Passing through the Ishtar Gate was the great Procession 
Street (see note under Fig. 55). In the lower left-hand comer of the palace inclosure 
will be noted a vaulted structure. This is conjecturally connected by Dr. Koldewey with 
the famous Hanging Gardens ^ 

Babylon, the celebrated Hanging Gardens,^ the quays along the 
Euphrates, and the city walls. The gardens and the walls were 
reckoned among the seven wonders of the ancient world. 

1 The Hanging Gardens, according to a Greek tradition, were constructed by 
Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife Amytis, who, tired of the monotony of the Baby- 
lonian plains, longed for the mountain scenery of her native Media. Dr. Koldewey, the 



§76] 



THE FALL OF BABYLON 



71 



Especially zealous was Nebuchadnezzar in the erection and resto- 
ration of the shrines of the gods. " Like dear life," runs one of his 
inscriptions, " love I the building of their lodging places." He dwells 
with fondness on all the details of the work, and tells how he orna- 
mented with precious stones the panelings of the shrines, roofed 
them with huge beams of cedar overlaid with gold and silver, and 
decorated the gates with plates of bronze, making the sacred abodes 
as "brilliant as the sun" and "bright as the stars of heaven."^ 



yvi »w 


iipiiiiiiiiiiiiii' 1 > 


. l)iw; 


ij 1 \i^ m) iii»" 


uiiiiii'"m(mi')iiiii 


1 i/;,'/ii 


v,'n)i»i!i",i, 


'PAdlllUlW lllllllllll 








tl 


r^. 














1 Zi\ 



,J« 



5ji&jj MiStoiMiiiiiiiHI Bill 

IIIIUUI"llllJIJIJ"J<II«tlI|f/fWK«lllllUll|JIIIIII| 



Fig. 55. Babylonian Lion. (From Koldewey, Excavations at Babylon) 

A characteristic feature of Babylonian art was the decoration of walls with figures 
formed of colored enameled bricks. The figure here shown is a restoration from ex- 
cavated fragments. Over a hundred such figures formed the magnificent friezes of the 
walls lining the great Procession Street (Fig. 54), made by Nebuchadnezzar, and 
leading to the famous temple of Marduk 



76. The Fall of Babylon (538 B.C.). The glory of the New Baby- 
lonian Empire passed away with Nebuchadnezzar. Among the moun- 
tains and on the uplands to the east of the Tigris-Euphrates valley 
there had been growing up an Aryan kingdom. At the time which 
we have now reached, this state, through the destruction of the 
Assyrian Empire (sect. 67) and the absorption of its provinces, had 

director of the German excavations at Babylon, unearthed massive ruins which he thinks 
may have formed the vaulted substructure of the gardens. " The reason," he says, " why 
the Hanging Gardens were ranked among the seven wonders of the world was that they 
were laid out on the roof of an occupied building" {Excavations at Babylon, p. loo). 

1 See the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, Records of the Past (New Series), vol. iii, 
pp. 102 ff. 



78 THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE [§76 

grown into a great imperial power — the Medo-Persian. At the head 
of this new empire was Cyrus, a strong, energetic, and ambitious 
sovereign (sect. 102). Coming into collision with the Babylonian 
king Nabonidus he defeated his army in the open field, and the 
gates of the strongly fortified capital Babylon were without further 
resistance thrown open to the Persians.'^ 

With the fall of Babylon the scepter of dominion, borne so long 
by Semitic princes, was given into the hands of the Aryan peoples, 
who were destined from this time forward to shape the main course 
of events and control the affairs of civilization.^ 

Selections from the Sources. Harper's Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, 
pp. 134-143, "The East India House Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar 11" (a 
record of the king's great building operations) ; and pp. 1 71-174, " The CyHn- 
der of Cyrus " (an account of the taking of Babylon). 

References (Modern). Maspero, The Passing of the Empires, chap, v, and 
Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria, chaps, xi-xx. Rogers, A History of Baby- 
lonia and Assyria, vol. ii, pp. 297—381. Goodspeed, A History of the Baby- 
lonians and Assyrians, pt. iv. Sayce, The Religiotis of Ancient Egypt and 
Babylonia, pt. ii. Winckler, The History of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 313- 
328. Koldewey, The Excavations at Babylon. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The outer walls of Babylon: Koldewey, The 
Excavatiotis at Babylon, pp. 1-6. 2. The Ishtar Gate and its wall decorations : 
Koldewey, The Excavations at Babylon, pp. 38-49. 

1 The device of turning the Euphrates, which Herodotus makes an incident of the 
siege, was not resorted to by Cyrus; but it seems that a little later (521-519 B.C.), 
the city, having revolted, was actually taken in this way by the Persian king Darius. 
Herodotus confused the two events. 

2 In the seventh and eighth centuries of the Christian era there was a revival of the 
Semitic power throughout the Orient by the Arabs, but the ascendancy of this race was 
of brief duration. 




CHAPTER VII 
THE HEBREWS 

77. The Patriarchal Age. The history of the Hebrews, as nar- 
rated in their sacred books, begins with the departure of the 
patriarch Abraham out of " Ur of the Chaldees." The stories of 
Abraham and his nephew Lot, of Isaac and his sons Jacob and 
Esau, of the sojourn and the oppression of the descendants of Jacob 
in Egypt, of the Exodus under the leadership of the great lawgiver 
Moses, of the conquest of Canaan by his successor Joshua, and the 
apportionment of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel — all 
these wonderful stories are told in the old Hebrew Scriptures with 
a charm and simplicity that have made them the familiar possession 
of childhood. 

78. The Israelites and the Canaanites. It was probably shortly 
after the end of the rule of the Hyksos (sect. 26) that the Hebrew 
refugees from the Nile-land, bearing the stain of their desert and 
nomadic life, drifted into Palestine from the " wilderness " beyond 
the Jordan. The country was at this time in possession of Amorite 
or Canaanite tribes, close kin of the newcomers. Their cities were 
strongly walled, and the desert warriors were not able to drive out 
the inhabitants. So the two peoples dwelt together in the land, the 
Canaanites holding in the main the hill districts and the Israelites 
the plains. The Hebrew nation arose from the intermingling and 
final union of the invaders and the native city inhabitants. This dual 
ancestry explains much in the religious and the moral life of the 
Hebrew people. 

79. The Age of the "Judges" (ending about 1050 B.C.). The in- 
trusion into Canaan of the Israelite tribes was followed by a long 
period of petty wars, brigandage, and anarchy. During this time 
there arose a line of national heroes, such as Gideon, Jephthah, and 

79 



8o THE HEBREWS [§80 

Samson, whose deeds of valor and daring, and the timely deliverance 
they wrought for the tribes of Israel from their foes, caused their 
names to be handed down with grateful remembrance to following 
ages. These popular leaders, most of whom were local rulers, are 
called " Judges " by the Bible writers. 

80. Founding of the Hebrew Monarchy (about 1050 B.C.). During 
the time of the " Judges " there was, as the history of the period 
shows, no effective union among the tribes of Israel. But the com- 
mon danger to which they were exposed from enemies — especially 
from the warlike Philistines, who had come into Palestine from the 
^gean region about 1200 b. c.'^ and the example of the nations 
about them, led the people finally to begin to think of the advantages 
of a more perfect union and of a strong central government. 

The situation of things at just this time favored the rise of a 
Hebrew kingdom. All the great states of the Orient — Egypt, 
Babylonia, Assyria, and the Hittite Empire — exhausted by their 
struggles with one another for supremacy or undermined by other 
causes, were suffering a temporary decline, and the way was clear 
for the advance into the arena of world politics of another competitor 
for imperial dominion. The hitherto loose confederation was changed 
into a kingdom, and Saul of the tribe of Benjamin was made king of 
the new monarchy (about 1050 B.C.). 

81. The Reign of David (about 1025-993 B.C.). Upon the death of 
Saul, David, son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, assumed the scepter. 
After reducing to obedience all the tribes, David set about enlarging 
his dominions. He built up a real empire and waged wars against 
the troublesome tribes of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. 

David was a poet as well as a warrior. His lament over Saul and 
Jonathan^ is regarded as one of the noblest specimens of elegiac 
poetry that has come down from Hebrew antiquity. Such was his 
fame that the authorship of a large number of hymns written in a 
later age was ascribed to him. 

82. The Reign of Solomon (about 993-953 B.C.). David was followed 
by his son Solomon. The son did not possess the father's talent for 
military affairs, but was a liberal patron of art, commerce, and learning. 

1 See above, p. 33, n. i. 2 2 Sam. i, 17-27. 



§83] THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM 8 1 

He erected with the utmost magnificence of adornment the temple 
at Jerusalem j^lanned by his father David. The dedication cere- 
monies upon the completion of the building were most impressive.^ 
Thenceforth this temple was the center of the Hebrew worship and 
of the national life. 

For the purpose of extending his commerce Solomon equipped 
fleets upon the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.^ Remote regions 
of Africa were visited by his ships, and their rich and wonderful 
products made to contribute to the wealth and glory of his kingdom. 
The reputed author of famous proverbs, he has lived in tradition as 
the wisest king of the East. He maintained a court of oriental 
magnificence. When the queen of Sheba, made curious by reports 
of his glory, came from South Arabia to visit him, she exclaimed, 
" The half was not told me." 

83. The Division of the Kingdom (about 953 B.C.). The reign of 
Solomon was brilliant, yet disastrous in the end to the Hebrew 
monarchy. In order to carry on his vast undertakings he had 
laid oppressive taxes upon his people. When Rehoboam, his son, 
succeeded to his father's place, the people entreated him to lighten 
the taxes that were making their very lives a burden. He replied 
to their reasonable petition with haste and insolence : " My father," 
said he, " chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 
scorpions." 

Immediately all the tribes, save Judah and Benjamin, rose in 
revolt, and succeeded in setting up to the north of Jerusalem a 
rival kingdom, with Jeroboam as its first king. This northern state, 
of which Samaria afterwards became the capital, was known as the 
Kingdom of Israel ; the southern, of which Jerusalem remained the 
capital, was called the Kingdom of Judah. 

Thus was torn in twain the empire of David and Solomon. 
United, the tribes might have maintained an empire capable of 
offering successful resistance to the encroachments of the power- 
ful and ambitious monarchs about them. But now the land became 
an easy prey to the spoiler. It was henceforth the pathway of the 
conquering armies of the Nile and the Euphrates. Between the 

J See I Kings v-viii. 2 i Kings ix, 26-2S ; x, 22. 



82 THE HEBREWS [§ S4 

powerful monarchies of these regions, as between an upper and a 
nether millstone, the little kingdoms were destined, one after the 
other, to be ground to pieces. 

84. The Kingdom of Israel (953?-722 B.C.). The kingdom of the 
Ten Tribes maintained its existence for about two hundred years. 
Many passages of its history are recitals of the struggles between 
the worship of the national god Yahweh (Jehovah) and the idolatrous 
service of the gods of the surrounding nations. The cause of Yahweh 
was boldly espoused by a line of remarkable prophets, among whom 
Elijah and Elisha in the ninth century, and Amos and Hosea in the 
eighth, stand preeminent. 

The little kingdom was at last overwhelmed by the Assyrian 
power. This happened 722 b. c, when Samaria, as we have already nar- 
rated in the history of Assyria (sect. 64), was captured by Sargon, king 
of Nineveh, and 27,290 of the inhabitants, the flower of the people, 
were carried away into captivity beyond the Mesopotamian rivers. 

85. The Kingdom of Judah (953 ?-586 B.C.). This little kingdom, 
often on the verge of ruin from Egyptian or Assyrian armies, main- 
tained a semi-independent existence for over three centuries. Then 
upon the extension of the power of Babylon to the west, Jerusalem 
was forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Babylonian kings. 

The kingdom at last shared the fate of its northern rival. Nebu- 
chadnezzar, the powerful king of Babylon, in revenge for an uprising 
of the Jews, besieged and captured Jerusalem and carried away a 
large part of the people into captivity at Babylon (sect. 75). This 
event virtually ended the separate political life of the Hebrew race 
(586 B.C.). Henceforth Judea constituted simply a province of the 
empires — Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman — which 
successively held sway over the regions of western Asia, with, how- 
ever, one important period of national life under the Maccabees, 
during a part of the two centuries just preceding the birth of 
Christ (sect. 309). 

It only remains to mention those succeeding events which belong 
rather to the story of the Jews as a people than as a nation. Upon 
the capture of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus (sect. 76), that 
monarch permitted the exiles to return to Jerusalem and restore their 



§86] 



HEBREW LITERATURE 



83 



temple. Jerusalem thus became again the center of the old Hebrew 
worship, and, although shorn of national glory, continued to be the 
sacred center of the ancient faith till the second generation after 
Christ. Then, in chastisement for repeated revolts, the city was laid 
in ruins by the Romans ; while vast numbers of the inhabitants were 
slain, or perished by famine, and the remnant were driven into exile 
to different lands. 

Thus by a series of unparalleled calamities were the descendants 
of Abraham " sifted among all nations " ; but to this day they cling 
with a marked devotion 
and loyalty to the faith 
of their fathers. 

86. Hebrew Litera- 
ture. The literature of 
the Hebrews is a reli- 
gious one ; for litera- 
ture with them was in 
the main merely a 
means of inculcating re- 
ligious truth or awaken- 
ing devotional feeling. 

This unique litera- 
ture is contained in 
sacred books known 
as the Old or Hebrew 
Testament. In these 

ancient writings patriarchal traditions, histories, dramas, poems, proph- 
ecies, and personal narratives blend in a wonderful mosaic, which 
pictures with vivid and grand effect the migrations, the deliverances, 
the calamities — all the events and religious experiences making up 
the checkered life of the people of Israel, 

Out of the Old Testament arose the New^ which we should think 
of as a part of Hebrew literature ; for although written in the Greek 
language and long after the close of the political life of the Jewish 
nation, still it is essentially Hebrew in thought and doctrine, and is 
the supplement and crown of the Hebrew Scriptures. 




Fig. 56. The Place of Wailing 

A well-preserved portion of the substruction walls of the 

Temple at Jerusalem, where Jews assemble each Friday 

to bewail the desolation of Zion 



84 THE HEBREWS [§87 

Besides the Sacred Scriptures, called collectively, by way of pre- 
eminence, the Bible (the Book),' it remains to mention especially the 
Apocrypha, which embraces a number of books composed after the 
decline of the prophetic spirit and showing traces of the influence 
of Persian and of Greek thought. Whether these books possess 
divine inspiration is among Protestants still a disputed question, 
but by the Roman Catholic Church they are in the main regarded 
as possessing equal authority with the other books of the Bible. 

Neither must we fail to mention the Taltmid, a collection of 
Hebrew customs and traditions with the comments thereupon of the 
rabbis, a work held by most Jews next in sacredness to the Holy 
Book ; the writings of Philo, an illustrious Alexandrian philosopher 
(born about 25 B.C.) ; and the Antiquities of the Jews and ihQ Jewish 
War by the historian Josephus, who' lived and wrote at the time of 
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, that is, 
during the latter part of the first century after Christ. 

87. Hebrew Religion and Morality. The ancient Hebrews made 
little or no contribution to science. They produced no new order of 
architecture. In sculpture they did nothing ; their religion forbade 
their making " graven images." Their mission was to make known 
the idea of God as a being holy and just and loving — as the Uni- 
versal Father whose care is over not one people alone but over all 
peoples and races — and to teach men that what God requires of 
them is that they shall do justice and practice righteousness. 

This history-making idea of God and his character, which has pro- 
foundly influenced the religious and moral development of the race, 
was the most fruitful element in the bequest which the ancient 
Hebrews made to the younger world of Europe, and is largely what 
entitles them to the preeminent place they hold in the history of 
humanity. 

88. An Ideal of Universal Peace. Another element of great his- 
torical significance in the bequest of Israel to civilization was an ideal 
of universal peace. The great prophets Isaiah and Micah, writing in 
the war-troubled times of the eighth century B.C., persuaded of the 
ultimate triumph of justice and righteousness in the world, foretold 
the coming of a time when the nations of the earth, with enmities 



§89] 



IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE 



85 



laid aside, should dwell together in unity and peace : '" Out of Zion 
shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ; . . . 
and they [the nations] shall beat their swords into plowshares, and 
their spears into pruning hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more." ^ 

This is the first distinct expression in Hebrew literature, or in the 
literature of any race, of the brotherhood of man and a federated 




Fig. 57. The Lailk I i. mile ai Jerusalem as Enlarged and Beauti- 
fied BY Herod. (A reconstruction by Schick) 



world. The lofty ideal has lived on through the ages, inspiring many 
visions of world unity and peace, and in our own day has found 
concrete embodiment in the noble Peace Palace at the Hague — but 
has not yet found realization in the conduct of the nations. 

89. Ideas of the Future Life. Speaking of the Hebrew conception 
of the after life, George Rawlinson says : " Flow it happened that 
in Egyptian thought the future life occupied so large a space, and 
was felt to be so real and so substantial, while among the Hebrews 
and the other Semites it remained, even after contact with Egypt, 
so vague and shadowy, is a mystery which it is impossible to 
penetrate." 

1 Isaiah ii, 3, 4 ; Micah iv, 1-3. 



86 THE HEBREWS [§ 89 

The Hebrew conception of the future life was like that of the 
Babylonians. Sheol was the Babylonian " land of no return " 
(sect. 56), a vague and shadowy region beneath the earth, a sad and 
dismal place. " The small and the great were there." There was no 
distinction even between the good and the bad ; the same lot awaited 
all who went down into the " pit." The good man was thought to 
receive his reward in long life and prosperity here on earth. But with 
the moral and religious development of the nation, under the leader- 
ship and inspiration of their great prophets and teachers, the Hebrews 
attained a wholly different conception of life beyond the tomb, so that 
it was finally by them that the doctrine of immortality and of a coming 
judgment was spread abroad in the Western world. 

Selection from the Sources. The Old Testament, 2 Sam. i, 17-27, David's 
lament over Saul and Jonathan (see Nathaniel Schmidt's The Message of the 
Poets, pp. 364-367) ; I Kings v-viii, the building and the dedication by Solomon 
of the Temple at Jerusalem. 

References (Modern). Sayce, Early Israel and the Snrrotuiding N'ations. 
Kent, A Histoiy of ike Hebrezv Piople, 2 vols. Renan, History of the People 
of Israel, 4 vols. CoRNiLL, Histoty of the People of Israel. Hilprecht, Recent 
Research in Bible Lands and Explorations in Bible Lands in the Alneteenth 
Ceiituyy (consult tables of contents). Montefiore, Lectures on the Origin 
and Gro-wth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religiott of the Ancient Hebrews. 
Ball, Light from the East. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile. Cheyne, 
fewish Religious Life after the Exile. MoULTON, The Literary Study of the 
Bible. Peters, The Religion of the Hebrews. The special student will of course 
consult McCuRDY, Histoiy, Prophecy, and the Monuments. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Israel in Egypt: Petrie, Egypt and Israel, 
chap. ii. 2. The Song of Deborah (Judges v) : Nathaniel Schmidt, The Message 
of the Poets, pp. 354-362. 3. Some Hebrew laws concerning the poor and the 
bondsman: Exod. xxii, 25-27; xxiii, 10; Deut. xv, 7-15; xxiv, 6, 10-13. 



CHAPTER VIII 
PHCENICIANS, HITTITES, AND LYDIANS 

90. Introduction. Three peoples served as intermediaries between 
the culture lands of the Orient and the early centers of civilization in 
the West. Along the land and sea routes of trade and travel which 
they controlled, many of _ the elements of the civilizations of Egypt 
and Babylonia were carried to the Western lands. In the present 
chapter we shall relate some facts pertaining to these peoples which 
will indicate the place they hold in the cultural history of the ancient 
world. 




I. THE PHCENICIANS 

91. The Land and the People. Ancient Phoenicia embraced a little 
strip of broken seacoast lying between the Mediterranean Sea and 
the ranges of Mount Lebanon.^ One of the 
most noted productions of the countr)^ was 
the fine fir timber cut from the forests that 
crowned the lofty ranges of the Lebanon 
Mountains. The " cedars of Lebanon " 
hold a prominent place both in the history 
and in the poetry of the East. 

Another celebrated product of the country 
was a purple dye, which was obtained from 
several varieties of the murex, a species of 
shellfish, secured at first along the Phoenician 
coast, but later sought in distant waters, especially in the Grecian seas. 

The Phoenicians were of Semitic race. Long before the advent 
of the Israelites in Canaan, these earlier comers had built great port 
cities along the Mediterranean and developed an extensive sea trade. 

1 In the study of this chapter the maps which will be found at pages Sz and 162 
should be used. 

87 



Fig. 58. Stecies of the 
Murex. (After Maspero) 

The mollusks which secrete 

the famous purple dye of the 

ancient Tyrians 



PHCENICIANS, HITTITES, AND LYDIANS [§ 92 




92. Tyre and Sidon. The various Phoenician cities never coalesced 
to form a true nation. They constituted merely a sort of league or 
confederacy, the petty states of which generally acknowledged the 
leadership of Tyre or of Sidon, the two chief cities. The place 
of supremacy in the confederation was at first held by Sidon, but 
later by Tyre. 

From about the eleventh to the fourth century B.C. Tyre con- 
trolled, almost without dispute on the part of Sidon, the affairs of 
Phoenicia. During this time the maritime enterprise and energy 
of her merchants spread throughout the Mediterranean world the 

fame of the little island 

capital. Alexander the 
Great, after a memora- 
ble siege, captured the 
city and reduced it to 
ruins (sect. 282). Tyre 
recovered in a measure 
from this blow, but 
never regained the 
place she had previously 
held in the world. The 
larger part of the site 
of the once great city is now " bare as the top of a rock " — 
a place where the fishermen that still frequent the spot spread their 
nets to dry. ' 

93. Phoenician Commerce. It was natural that the people of the 
Phoenician coast should have been led to a seafaring life. The lofty 
mountains that back the little strip of shore seemed to shut them out 
from a career of conquest and to prohibit an extension of their land 
domains. At the same time, the Mediterranean in front invited them 
to maritime enterprise, while the forests of Lebanon in the rear 
offered timber in abundance for their ships. They were skillful navi- 
gators, and pushing boldly out from the shore, made voyages out of 
sight of land. It is believed that they were the first to steer their 
ships at night by the polar star, since the Greeks called this the 
Phoenician Star. We have already seen how in the service of an 



Fig. 59. 



Phoenician Galley. 
Assyrian sculpture) 



(From an 



§94] PHCENICIAN COLONIES 89 

Egyptian king they circumnavigated Africa (sect. 29), thus anticipating 
by more than two thousand years the achievement of the Portuguese 
navigator Vasco da Gama. 

One of the earliest centers of activity of the Phoenician traders 
was the ^gean Sea. Here they exclianged wares with the natives, 
bought or kidnapped slaves, searched the seas for the purple-yielding 
mollusks, and mined the hills for gold. Herodotus avers that a whole 
mountain on one of the islands was turned upside down by them in 
their search for ores. 

Towards the close of the tenth or the ninth century B.C. the 
jealousy of the Greek city-states, now growing into maritime power, 
closed the yEgean against the Phoenician adventurers. They then 
pushed out into the western Mediterranean. One chief object of 
their quest here was tin, which was in great demand on account 
of its use in the manufacture of bronze. The tin was first sup- 
plied by the mines opened in the Iberian (Spanish) peninsula. 
Later the bold Phoenician sailors passed the Pillars of Hercules, 
braved the dangers of the Atlantic, and brought back from those 
stormy seas the product of the tin-producing districts ^ of western 
Europe. 

94. Phoenician Colonies. Along the different routes pursued by 
their ships, and upon the coasts visited by them, the Phoenicians 
established naval stations and trading posts. The sites chosen were 
generally islands or promontories easily defended, and visible from 
afar to approaching ships. 

Settlements were planted in Cyprus, in Rhodes, and on other 
islands of the yEgean Sea, and probably even in Greece itself. 
The shores of the islands of Sicily and Sardinia were fringed with 
Phoenician colonies ; while the coast of North Africa was dotted 
with such great cities as Utica, Hippo, and Carthage. Colonies 
were even planted beyond the Pillars of Hercules, upon the Atlantic 
seaboard. The Phoenician settlement of Gades, upon the western 
coast of Spain, is still preserved in the modern Cadiz. Its prosperity 

1 Probably one or all of the following regions : northwest Spain, southwest Hritain 
(Cornwall), and the neighboring Scilly Islands — possibly the ancient Cassiterides. 
The subject has been and is a matter of controversy. 



90 



PHCENICIANS, HITTITES, AND LYDIANS [§95 



rested on the salt-fish trade of the Atlantic, as well as on the mineral 
products and agricultural riches of Spain. ^ 

95. Arts Disseminated by the Phoenicians; the Alphabet. Com- 
merce has been called the pathbreaker of civilization. Certainly it 
was such in antiquity when the Phoenician traders carried in their 
ships to every Mediterranean land the wares of the workshops of 
Tyre and Sidon, and along with these material products carried also 

the seeds of culture 
from the ancient 
lands of Egypt and 
Babylonia. In truth, 
we can scarcely over- 
rate the influence of 
Phoenician maritime 
enterprise upon the 
distribution of the 
arts and the spread 
of culture among the 
early peoples of the 
Mediterranean area. 
" Egypt and Assyria," 
as has been tersely 
said, " were the birthplace of material civilization ; the Phoenicians 
were its missionaries." 

Most fruitful of all the arts which the Phoenicians introduced 
among the peoples with whom they traded was the art of alpha- 
betic writing. As early at least as the ninth century B.C. they were 
in possession of an alphabet (sect. 1 1). Now wherever the Phoenician 



Phcenician 


ANCIENT GREEK 


LATER GREEK 


ENGLISH 


>?^ 


^ X//1A 


A A 


A 


^ 


^ ^ 


B 


B 


/1,1 


A^^G 


r 


C 


A,^ 


^AVP 


A 


D 


\ 


^.^/^^^ 


E e 


E 


1 


A /^ 




F 


z 


s z _2r 


z 


Z 



Fig. 6o. Table showing the Development of 
English Letters from the Phcenician 



1 From the mother city Tyre and from all her important colonies and trading posts 
radiated long routes of land travel by which articles were conveyed from the interior 
of the continents to the Mediterranean seaboard. Thus amber was brought from the 
Baltic, through the forests of Germany, to the mouth of the river Padus (Po), in Italy ; 
while the tin of western Europe was, at first, brought across Gaul to the outlets of the 
Rhone, and there loaded upon the Phoenician ships. The trade with India was carried 
on by way of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, great caravans bearing the burdens 
from the ports at the heads of these seas across the Arabian and Syrian deserts to the 
warehouses of Tyre. Other routes led from Phoenicia across the Mesopotamian plains 
to Armenia, Assyria, Babylonia, I'ersia, and thence on into the heart of central Asia. 



96] 



THE EMPIRE OF THE HITTITES 



91 



traders went they carried this alphabet as " one of their exports." It 
was through them that the Greeks received it ; the Greeks passed it 
on to the Romans, and the Romans gave it to the German peoples. 
In this way our alphabet came to us from 
the ancient East.^ It would be difficult to 
exaggerate the importance of this gift of the 
alphabet to the peoples of Europe. Without 
it their civilization could never have become 
so rich and progressive as it did. 

Among the other elements of culture which 
the Phoenicians carried to. the peoples of the 
Mediterranean lands, the most important, 
after alphabetic writing, were systems of 
weights and measures. These are indispen- 
sable agents of civilization, and hold some 
such relation to the development of trade 
and commerce as letters hold to the develop- 
ment of the intellectual life. 




II. THE HITTITES 

96. The Empire of the Hittites. Our 
growing knowledge of the peoples and states 
of Asia Minor has revealed the fact that the 
elements of Egyptian and Mesopotamian cul- 
ture were carried westward over the im- 
memorial land routes through this peninsula 
as well as by the waterways of the Medi- 
terranean. Chief in importance, before the 
Persian period, of the peoples controlling 
these land routes were, first, the Hittites, 
and then at a much later time the Lydians. 
our attention drawn to the empire of the Hittites (sect. 28), whose 
capital city Hatti was situated on the uplands of Asia Minor, east of 
the Halys River. From about 1600 B.C. on for several centuries this 

1 All systems of writing now in use, except the Chinese and those derived from it, 
are from the PhcEnician script. 



Fig. 61. The IIittite 
God of the Sky 

A stele excavated by Dr. 
Koldewey in the palace of 
Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, 
whither it probably had been 
carried as a war trophy from 
northern Syria. The figure 
holds in one hand the light- 
ning and in the other an ax, 
a primitive symbol of power 
and sovereignty 

We have already had 



92 



PHOENICIANS, HITTITES, AND LYDIANS [§97 



Hittite state was one of the great powers of the Orient, and divided 
with Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria the control of western Asia. 
The empire finally fell to pieces, and the very memory of it was lost. 




^^'"T . 



ri^ 







Fig. 62. Caravan Crossing the Taurus. (From a photograph) 

Scene on the ancient trade route — a branch of the great Royal Road (sect. 1 04) — which 
crosses the Taurus Mountains by the famous Cilician Gates. This road has been a 
chief artery of the trade of western Asia and the pathway of armies for more than four 
thousand years. Its long story of peace and war will end with the completion of the 
Constantinople-Bagdad railroad 

97. Relation to the History of ' Civilization. The importance of 
the Hittite princes for the history of culture arises from the circum- 
stance, as already intimated, that the great overland trade routes 




Fig. 63. Hittite Hieroglyphic Writing 
The key to this difficult script has not yet been discovered 

between the East and the West ran through their dominions. They 
held, in a word, the same relation to the land traffic of the times that 
the Phoenicians held to the sea traffic. They themselves absorbed 



§98] THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 93 

various elements of Egyptian and Babylonian-Assyrian culture. They 
developed an art which bore the deep impress of Assyrian influence, 
and worked out a system of hieroglyphic writing, probably under the 
influence of Egypt. This is a very difficult script and has not yet 
been deciphered. In their foreign diplomatic correspondence they 
used the Babylonian cuneiform script, and many clay tablets like those 
of the Mesopotamian countries have been found on the site of the 
ancient capital.''- 

III. THE LYDIANS 

98. The Land and the People. The third people that played the 
role of intermediaries in the ancient world were the Lydians. Lydia 
was a country in the western part of Asia Minor. It was a land 
highly favored by nature. It embraced two rich river valleys — the 
plains of the Hermus and the Cayster — which from the mountains 
inland sloped gently to the island-dotted ^gean. The Pactolus, 
and other tributaries of the streams we have named, rolled down 
" golden sands," while the mountains were rich in the precious metals. 
The coast region did not at first belong to Lydia ; it was held by 
the Greeks, who had fringed it with cities. Later, these cities, with 
the exception of Miletus, were subjugated by the Lydian kings. The 
capital of the country was Sardis. It seems probable that the Lydian 
state was a fragment of the great Hittite Empire. 

99. Lydia a Connecting Link between the East and the West. As 
we have said, the Lydians hold an important place in the history of 
ancient culture because they played a part like that of the Phoenicians 
and the Hittites. The cities of the coast lands were the last stations 
towards the west of the great overland trade routes. They were the 
gateways through which various elements of the culture of the Orient 
passed into Europe. 

The best gift of Lydia to the Western world was the art of coinage, 
for the Lydian kings were the first to coin gold and silver ; that is, 
to impress a stamp upon pieces of these metals and thus testify to 
their purity and weight.^ Before this invention gold and silver were 

1 The modem Boghaz-Keui. 

2 Holm, History of Greece (1899), vol. i, p, 214. 



94 PHCENICIANS, HITTITES, AND LYDIANS [§99 

taken by weight/ which had to be determined anew by balances 
each time the metal changed hands. The invention, quickly adopted 
by the Greek cities, gave a great impulse to their expanding trade 
and commerce. From Greece the art was introduced into Italy. 
Thus Lydia gave to civilization one of its most important and 
indispensable agencies. 

Selections from the Sources. The Bible, Ezek. xxvii (a striking portrayal 
by the prophet of the commerce, the trade relations, and the wealth of Tyre). 
The Voyni:;e of I/anno, a record of a Phoenician exploring expedition down the 
western coast of Africa (a translation of this celebrated record will be found 
in Rawlinson's History of Phoenicia, pp. 389-392). 

References (Modern). Rawlinson, History of Phanicia and The Story of 
Phatiicia. Kenrick, Phoenicia. Old (1855), ^"t still valuable. Lenormant 
and Chevallier, Ancient History of the East, vol. ii (consult table of contents). 
Sayce, The Ancient Empires of the East, chaps, iii, iv. Duncker, History 
of Atttiqtiity, vol. ii, bk. iii, chaps, xi, xii. Keller, Colonization, pp. 26-39. 
Garstang, The Land of the Hittites. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Phoenician commerce and its influence upon 
the progress of civilization : Keller, Colonization, pp. 28-30, 38-39. 2. The 
Tyrian purple dye : Rawlinson, The Stoiy of Phcenicia, pp. 5, 6, 275-282. 
3. A Phoenician adventure — the circumnavigation of Africa : Rawlinson, 
The Sto/y of Pha-nicia, chap. xii. 4. Croesus and Solon: Herodotus, i, 29-33 
(retold in Church, Herodotus, pp. 3-10). 

1 See Gen. xxiii, 7-16. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 

(558-330 B.C.) 
I. POLITICAL HISTORY 

100. Kinship of the Medes and Persians. It was in remote times, 
probably before 1500 B.C., that some Aryan tribes, separating them- 
selves from kindred clans, the ancestors of the Indian Aryans, with 
whom they had lived for a time as a single community, sought new 
abodes on the plateau of western Iran. The immigrants that settled 
in the south, near the Persian Gulf, became known as the Persians ; 
while those that took possession of the mountain regions of the 
northwest were called Medes. The names of the two peoples were 
always very closely associated, as in the familiar legend, " The law 
of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." 

101. The Medes at first the Leading Race. Although the Persians 
were destined to become the dominant tribe of all the Iranian 
Aryans, still the Medes were at first the leading people. Cyaxares 
(625-585 B.C.) was their first prominent leader and king. We have 
already seen how he overthrew the last king of Nineveh, and destroyed 
that capital (sect. 67). The destruction of the Assyrian power resulted 
in the speedy extension of the frontiers of the new Median empire 
to the river Halys in Asia Minor. 

102. Cyrus the Great (558-529 B.C.) Founds a Great World Empire. 
The leadership of the Median chieftains was of short duration. 
A certain Cyrus, king of Anshan, in Elam, overthrew their power, 
and assumed the headship of both Medes and Persians. Through 
his energy and soldierly genius Cyrus soon built up an empire more 
extended than any over which the scepter had yet been swayed by 
oriental monarch, or indeed, so far as we know, by any ruler before 
his time. 

95 



96 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 



[§102 



After the conquest of Media and the acquisition of the provinces 
formerly ruled by the Median princes, Cyrus rounded out his empire 
by the conquest of Lydia and Babylonia. 

The Lydian throne was at this time held by Croesus (560-546 B.C.), 
the last and most renowned of his race. The tribute Croesus collected 
from the Greek cities, and the revenues he derived from his gold 
mines, rendered him the richest monarch of his times, so that his 
name has passed into the proverb " rich as Croesus." 

Now the fall of Media, which had been a friendly and allied power, 
and the extension thereby of the domains of the conqueror Cyrus to 

the eastern frontiers of Lydia, 
naturally filled Croesus with alarm. 
He at once formed an alliance 
with Nabonidus, king of Babylon, 
and with Amasis, king of Egypt, 
both of whom, like Croesus, had 
fears for the safety of their own 
kingdoms. Furthermore, Croesus 
formed an alliance with the Greek 
city of Sparta, which was now 
rising into prominence'. 

\\'ithout waiting for his allies 

to join him, Croesus crossed the 

river Halys and threw down the 

gage of battle to Cyrus. But he 

had misjudged the strength and activity of his enemy. Cyrus defeated 

the Lydians in the open field, and after a short siege captured Sardis. 

Lydia now became a part of the Persian Empire (546 B.C.). 

This war between Croesus and Cyrus derives a special importance 
from the fact that it brought the Persian Empire into contact with 
the Greek cities of Asia, and thus led on directly to that memorable 
struggle between Greece and Persia known as the Graeco-Persian 
War, the incidents of which we shall narrate in a later chapter. 




Fig. 64. Crcesus on the PyreI 



1 Legend tells how Cyrus caused a pyre to be built on which to burn Croesus, and 
how Apollo, because the king had made rich gifts to his shrine, put out the kindling 
fire by a sudden downpour of rain. See Herodotus, i, 86 f. 



103] 



REIGN OF CAMBYSES 



97 



The fall of Lydia was quickly followed by that of Babylonia, as 
has been already related as part of the story of the Chaldean Empire 
(sect. 76). Cyrus had now rounded out his dominions. 

Tradition says that Cyrus lost his life in an expedition against 
Scythian tribes in the north. He was buried at Pasargadas, the old 
Persian capital, and there his tomb stands to-day, surrounded by the 
ruins of the magnificent buildings with which he adorned that city. 

103. Reign of Cambyses (529-522 B.C.). Cyrus the Great left two 
sons, Cambyses and Smerdis ; the former, as the elder, inherited the 
scepter and the title 
of king. He began a 
despotic and unfortu- 
nate reign by causing 
his brother, whose 
influence he feared, 
to be secretly put to 
death. 

With far less ability 
than his father for 
their execution, Cam- 
byses conceived even 
vaster projects of con- 
quest and dominion. Upon some slight pretext he invaded and 
conquered Egypt, together with Nubia. After a short, unsatisfactory 
stay in the country, Cambyses set out on his return to Persia. While 
on his way home, news was brought to him that his brother Smerdis 
had usurped the throne (an impostor, Gomates by name, who re- 
sembled the murdered Smerdis, had personated him, and actually 
seized the scepter). Entirely disheartened by this startling intelligence, 
Cambyses in despair took his own life.^ 

104. Reign of Darius I (521-484 B.C.). The Persian nobles soon 
rescued the scepter from the grasp of the false Smerdis, and their 
leader, Darius, took the throne. The first act of Darius was to 
punish those who had taken part in the usurpation of Smerdis. 

1 So the records of Darius infonn us. Other less reliable accounts say that his death 
was the result of an accident. 




?rS'*\ 



Fig. 65. The Tomb of Cyrus, at Pasargad/E 



98 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 



[§104 



With quiet and submission secured throughout the empire, Darius 
gave himself, for a time, to the arts of peace. He built a great palace 
at Susa ; erected magnificent structures at Persepolis ; reformed the 
administration of the government, making such wise and lasting 
changes that he has been called " the second founder of the Persian 
Empire " ; and constructed post roads with which he bound together 
all parts of his extended dominion. The celebrated Royal Road ran 
from Susa through the ancient Assyria and Armenia, and across Asia 




\ 









Fig. 66. Insurgent Captives brought before Darius 
(From the Behistun Rock) 

Beneath the foot of the king is Gomates, the false Smerdis 

Minor — over the uplands once controlled by the Hittite princes — 
to Sardis and so on to the ^gean at Ephesus.^ This road must 
have been in the main merely the ancient trails, used by caravans 
from time immemorial, improved and better provided with relay 
stations. Over it couriers, changing frequently their mounts, car- 
ried the royal commands " swifter than the crane." This magni- 
ficent road was a main artery of ancient trade and commerce for 
more than a thousand years. 



1 See Herodotus v, 52, 53. 





25" 30° 


35' 


40° 45° 


#^ 

o 

«^ 

30° 
26° 
20° 


7 ^"- ]/x 


o^draorl 
ascus 1 

1 

THE 

In 

\ 1 50 


Kf> 


Ja^J^^ >-. 




BabyionVx^.. ^ 


PERSTAl?^ EOTPIK 

Its greatest extent. 
ABOrT 500 B.C. 

Persian Emiilre 1 ( 

pplt rnlnntps In Ania ■Minor 1 1 

100 200 300 400 sgo 


if ' ' 

\ \ 


Scale of Miles. 
1 





30" 35° 


40' 


45° 



•S£U '/ 



<:) 




^OGD 



lA 



fTA. 



^, 



ba\c 



Till 



aNA 



J Plateau of Iran 

V O 


tfilAl 

1 

1 


Authorities. \ 
H.Jiiepert, Atlas Antiiuua 
[ Vf. SlegUn, Atlas Antiquus 




jZ^l 


lopersepoils 

V-I^^ CARMANIA ~\^ 





§ 105] 



REIGN OF DARIUS I 



99 




To commemorate his achievements, Darius mscribed upon the 
great Behistun Rock (Fig. 68), a lofty smooth-faced cliff on the west- 
ern frontier of Persia, 
a record of what he 
had done. 

And now the Great 
King, lord of western 
Asia and of Egypt, 
conceived and entered 
upon the execution of 
vast designs of con- 
quest, the far-reaching 
effects of which were 
destined to live long 
after he had passed 
away. He determined 
to extend the frontiers 
of his empire into India 
and Europe alike. 

At one blow Darius 
brought the region of 
northwestern India known as the Panjab under his authority, and 
thus by a single effort pushed out the eastern boundary of his empire 
. so that it included one of the 
richest countries of Asia. 

105. Campaigns in Eu- 
rope. Several campaigns 
in Europe followed. These 
brought Darius in direct 
contact with the Greeks, of 
whom we shall soon hear 
much. How his armaments 
and those of his son and 
successor, Xerxes I (484- 
464 B.C.), fared at the hands of this freedom-loving people, who 
now appear for the first time as prominent actors in large world 



Fig. 67. Traces of the Royal Road of Darius 
(From Garstang, The Land of the Hittites) 

The great Royal Road of Darius can still be traced in 
places over the uplands of Asia Minor by the wheel-ruts 
of chariots and other vehicles worn in the surface rock. 
The section shown in the picture is near the old capital 
of the Hittites (see sect. 96) 




Fig. 68. The Behistun Rock 
(After Rawlmson) 



lOO 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 



[§106 



affairs, will be told when we come to narrate the history of the Greek 
city-states. We need now simply note the result — the wreck of the 
Persian plans of conquest and the opening of the great days of Greece. 
106. The Decline and Fall of the Persian Empire. The power and 
supremacy of the Persian monarchy passed away with the reign of 
Xerxes. The last one hundred and forty years of the existence of the 

empire was a time of 
weakness and rebel- 
lions of satraps and 
nations, and presents 
nothing that need 
claim our attention 
in this place. 

In the year 334 B.C. 
Alexander the Great, 
king of Macedonia, 
led a small army of 
Greeks and Mace- 
donians across the 
Hellespont intent up- 
on the conquest of 
Asia. His succeeding 
movements and the 
establishment of the 
short-lived Macedo- 
nian monarchy upon 
the ruins of the Persian Empire are matters that properly belong to 
Grecian history, and will be related at a later stage of our story. 




Fig. 69. RocK-cuT Tomb of Darius I, near 
Persepolis. (After Flandin and Coste) 



II. GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND ARTS 

107. The Extent and Population of the Empire. The extent of 
the Persian Empire and the number of races it embraced justified 
the claim of the Persian rulers to a universal dominion. They 
assumed the title of king of kings, and proclaimed themselves as 
" the lord of all men from the sun-rising to the sun-setting." 



§ 108] THE GOVERNMENT lOi 

The population of the empire, including Egypt, was probably 
about fifty million, which is eight or nine million more than the 
same lands contain to-day. Of this number only about one-half 
million were genuine Persians.^ 

108. The Government. Before the reign of Darius I the govern- 
ment of the Persian Empire was like that of all the great empires 
that had preceded it, save the Assyrian in a measure and for a short 
space of time ; that is to say, it consisted of a great number of sub- 
ject states, which were allowed to retain their own kings and manage 
their own affairs, only paying tribute and furnishing contingents, 
when called upon in time of war, to the Great King. 

We have seen how weak was this rude and primitive type of 
government. Darius I, who possessed rare ability as an organizer, 
remodeled the system of his predecessors, and actually realized for 
the Persian monarchy what Tiglath-Pileser IV had long before 
attempted, but only with partial and temporary success, to accom- 
plish for the Assyrian (sect. 63). 

The system of government which Darius thus first made a real 
fact in the world is known as the satrapal, a form represented to-day 
by the Turkish Empire." The main part of the lands embraced by 
the monarchy was divided into twenty or more provinces, over each 
of which was placed a governor, called a satrap, appointed by the 
king. These officials held their position at the pleasure of the 
sovereign, and were thus rendered his subservient creatures. Each 
province contributed to the income of the king a stated revenue. 

There were provisions in the system by which the king might be 
apprised of the disloyalty of his satraps. Thus the whole dominion 
was firmly cemented together, and the facility with which almost- 
sovereign states — which was the real character of the different 
parts of the empire under the old system — could plan and execute 
revolt, was removed. 

109. Religion and Morality; Zoroastrianism. The literature of 
the ancient Persians was mostly religious. Their sacred book is 
called the Zend-Avesta. 

1 Eduard Meyer, Gcschichte dcs Altertiims, III, 91, 2. Aufl. 

2 The provincial system of the Romans reproduced this satrapal system of the Persians. 



I02 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 



[§109 



The religious system of the Persians, as taught in the Zend-Avesta, 
is known as Zoroastrianism, from Zoroaster, its supposed founder. 
This great reformer and teacher is now generally believed to have 
lived and taught about looo B.C., though some scholars place him 
several centuries later. 

Zoroastrianism, the first religion that claimed universality, that 
is, to be a creed for all men, was a system of belief best defined 
as dualism. There was a good spirit, Ahura Mazda, whose truest 
emblem or manifestation was fire. Upon high mountain tops the 

eternal flame on fire- 
altars was kept burn- 
ing from generation to 
generation. Because 
of their veneration 
for fire the ancient 
Persians are often 
called fire-worshipers. 
Opposed to the 
good spirit Ahura, or 
Ormazd, was an evil 
spirit Ahriman, who 
was constantly striv- 
ing to destroy the 
good creations of 
Ahura by creating all 
evil things — storm, drought, pestilence, noxious animals, weeds and 
thorns in the world without, and evil in the heart of man within. 
From all eternity these two powers had been contending for the 
mastery ; in the present neither had the decided advantage ; but 
in the near future Ahura would triumph over Ahriman, and evil 
be forever destroyed. 

The duty of man was to aid Ahura by working with him against 
the evil-loving Ahriman. He must labor to eradicate every evil and 
vice from his own heart ; to reclaim the earth from barrenness ; and 
to kill all noxious animals — frogs, toads, snakes, lizards — which 
Ahriman had created. Herodotus saw with amazement the priests 




Fig. 70. Ancient Persian Fire-altars. (From 
Perrot, History of Persian Art) 







1'l.AlL VII. "I'm, iKll./l. 1)1 lllK AKCUKKS," 1 UuM lllK I'ALACE 

OF Darius at Susa. (After M. Dieulafoy, V Acropole de Sitse) 

This frieze (now in the museum of the Louvre) is regarded as the masterpiece 
of Persian art. It is formed of enameled tiles (cf. Fig. 55 and note, on p. 77) 



§110] 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD 



103 



armed with weapons and engaged in slaying these animals as a 
" pious pastime." Agriculture was a sacred calling, for the husband- 
man was reclaiming the ground from the curse of the dark spirit.^ 

110. The Judgment of the Dead. As the moral feelings of the 
ancient Egyptians led them to create the Osirian tribunal of the 
underworld (sect. 41), so did the moral feelings of the Iranian 
teachers create a like judgment of the dead. The Persian concep- 
tion of this judgment, however, was truer and loftier than the 
Egyptian. The soul was conceived as 
being judged by itself. Upon its 
departure from this life the soul of 
the faithful is met by a beautiful 
maiden, " fair as the fairest thing," 
who says to him : " I am thy own 
conscience ; I was lovely and thou 
madest me still lovelier; I was fair 
and thou madest me still fairer through 
thy good thought, thy good speech, 
and thy good deed." And then the 
soul is led into the paradise of end- 
less light. But the soul of the wicked 
one is met by a hideous old woman, 
" uglier than the ugliest thing," who 
is his own conscience. She says to 
him : "I am thy bad actions, O youth 
of evil thoughts, of evil words, of evil 
deeds, of evil religion. It is on account of thy will and actions that 
I am hideous and vile." And then the soul is led down into the 
hell of endless darkness.'^ 




Fig. 71. The King in Combat 

WITH A Monster Symbolizing 

Ahriman. (From Persepolis) 



1 After the Zoroastrians had added to their creed the Magian belief in the sacredness 
of the elements, — earth, water, fire, and air, — there arose a difficulty in regard to the 
disposal of dead bodies. They could neither be burned, buried, thrown into the water, 
nor left to decay in a sepulchral chamber or in the open air without polluting one or 
another of the sacred elements. So they were given to the birds and wild beasts, being 
exposed on lofty towers or in desert places. Those whose feelings would not allow 
them thus to dispose of their dead were permitted to bury them, provided they first 
encased the body in wax to preserve the ground from contamination. 

2 Zend-Avesta, pt. ii, yasht xxii (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxiii, pp. 314 ff.). 



I04 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 



[§ 111 



Thus in the earliest period of the faith of the Zend-Avesta was 
taught the doctrine that heaven and hell are within the human 
soul itself, and that conscience is the supreme witness and judge 
of the soul's worthiness or unworthiness. 

111. The Duty of Truthfulness. Among the special virtues of 
the Persian moral code was truthfulness. As Ahura was the god 
of sincerity and truth, the man who battles on his side must also 
be sincere and truthful. Lying was the great crime. To lie, to de- 
ceive, was to be a follower of Ahriman, the god of lies and deceit. 




Fig. 72. The Ruins of Persepolis 

" The most disgraceful thing in the world," affirms Herodotus in 
his account of the Persians, "they think, is to tell a lie."^ In his 
report of the Persian system of education he says : " The boys are 
taught to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth." ^ I was 
not wicked, nor a liar, is the substance and purport of many a 
record of the ancient kings. 

The Persian rulers, shaming in this all other nations ancient and 
modern, kept sacredly their pledged word ; only once were they ever 
even charged with having broken a treaty with a foreign power.^ 

1 Herodotus, i, 139. 2 Und. i, 136. 

3 This was in the case of the city of Barca (see Herodotus, iv, 201). The later 
Persians fell away woefully from this high standard. 



§ 112] ARCHITECTURE I05 

112. Architecture. In the earliest times the Persians had no tem- 
ples. Their fire-altars stood beneath the open heavens. The palace 
of the monarch was the structure that absorbed the best efforts of 
the Persian architect. In imitation of the builders of the Tigris- 
Euphrates valley the Persian kings raised their palaces upon lofty 
terraces or platforms. But upon the table-lands they used stone 
instead of brick, and at Persepolis built for the substruction of 
their palaces an immense platform of massive masonry, which, with 
its sculptured stairways, is one of the most wonderful monuments 
of the world's ancient builders. 

Surmounting this platform are the ruins of the residences of several 
of the Persian monarchs. The ruins consist mainly of lofty columns 
and great monolithic door and window frames. Colossal winged bulls, 
copied from the Assyrians, stand a,s wardens at the gateway of the 
ruined palaces. Numerous sculptures decorate the faces of the walls, 
and these throw much light upon the manners and customs of the 
ancient Persian kings. The successive palaces increase not only in 
size but in sumptuousness of adornment, thus registering those 
changes which may be traced in the national history. The residence 
of Cyrus was small and modest, while that of Artaxerxes III (359— 
338 B.C.) equaled in size the great palace of the Assyrian Sargon. 

Selections from the Sources. Herodotus, i, 46-55, on Croesus and the 
oracles; 86-91, on Cyrus and Croesus; 131-140, on the customs of the Per- 
sians. Harper's Assyrian and Babylonian Literatu7-e, pp. 174-1S7, " The Large 
Inscription of Darius from Behistun." (We make no reference either here or 
in the following chapter to the Sacred Books of the East, for the reason that 
these translations are in general not suited to young readers.) 

References (Modern), Maspero, The Passing of the Empires, c\\2i^.\'\. Raw- 
LINSON, Eive Great Monarchies, vol. iii, pp. 84-539. Sayce, The Ancient 
Empires of the East, chaps, iv, v. Wheeler, Alexander the Great, chap. xii. 
Jackson, Zoroaster, the Pjvphet of Ancient Iran. Hall, Ancient History of 
the N^ear East, chap, xii, pp. 551-579. Benjamin, Persia, chaps, vii-xi. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Persian character and public and private life : 
Rawlinson, Eive Great Monarchies, vol. iii, chap, iii, pp. 164-247. 2. The Royal 
Road from Susa to Sardis : Herodotus, v, 52-54. 3. The Parsees, the modern 
representatives of the ancient fire-worshipers: see Encyc. Brit., vol. xx (nth 
ed.), under " Parsees." 



CHAPTER X 
THE EAST ASIAN PEOPLES 

113. The East Asian Circle of Culture. While in Egypt and west- 
ern Asia there were slowly developing the Egyptian, the Babylonian- 
Assyrian, the Syrian, and the Persian cultures of which we have given 
some account in the preceding chapters, there were developing at the 
other end of Asia, in India and China, civilizations which throughout 
this early period were in the main uninfluenced by the cultures of the 
West. Before following further the development of civilization in the 
Western lands, we must cast a glance upon these civilizations of 
the Far East.^ 

I. INDIA 

114. The Aryan Invasion. At the time of the great Indo-European 
dispersion (sect. i8), some Aryan bands, journeying from the north- 
west, settled first the plains of the Indus and then occupied the valley 
of the Ganges. They reached the banks of the latter river as early 
probably as 1500 B.C. 

These fair-skinned invaders found the land occupied by a dark- 
skinned, non-Aryan race, whom they either subjugated and reduced 
to serfdom, or drove out of the great river valleys into the mountains 
and the half-desert plains of the peninsula. 

In the course of time the conquered peoples, who doubtless 
formed the great majority of the population, adopted the language 
and the religion of the invaders. " They became Aryans in all 
things save in descent."^ 

1 Besides the Hindus and the Chinese, the Japanese are a third important people be- 
longing to the East Asian sphere of culture, but as they did not emerge from the obscurity 
of prehistoric times until about the beginning of the fifth century of our era, when writing 
was introduced into Japan from the continent, their true history falls wholly outside the 
period covered by the present volume. 

2 The unsubdued tribes of southern India, known as Dravidians, retained their native 
speech. Over 54,000,000 of the present population of India are non-Aryan in language. 

106 



§115] DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEM OF CASTES 107 

115. The Development of the System of Castes. The conflict and 
mingling of races in northern India caused tiie population to become 
divided into four social grades or hereditary classes, based on color. 
These were (i) the nobles or warriors ; (2) the Brahmans or priests ; ^ 
(3) the peasants and traders ; and (4) the Sudras. The last were 
of non-Aryan descent. Below these several grades were the Pariahs 
or outcasts, the lowest and most despised of the native races. The 
marked characteristics of this graded society were that intermarriage 
between the classes was forbidden, and that the members of different 
classes must not eat together nor come into personal contact. 

The development of this system, which is known as the system of 
castes, is one of the most important facts in the history of India. 
The system, however, has undergone great modification in the lapse 
of ages, and is now less rigid than in earlier times. At the present 
day it rests largely on an industrial basis, the members of every trade 
and occupation forming a distinct caste. The number of castes is now 
about two thousand. 

116. The Vedas and the Vedic Religion. The most important of 
the sacred books of the Hindus are called the Vedas. They are writ- 
ten in the Sanscrit language, which is the oldest form of Aryan 
speech preserved to us. The Rig-Veda, the most ancient of the 
books, is made up of hymns which were composed chiefly during the 
long period, perhaps a thousand years or more, while the Aryans 
were slowly working their way from the mountains on the northwest 
of India across the peninsula to the Ganges. These hymns, the 
oldest of which probably date from about 1500 k.c, are filled with 
memories of the long conflict of the fair-faced Aryans with the 
dark-faced aborigines.- 

The early religion of the Indian Aryans was a worship of the 
powers of nature. As this system characterized the period when 
the oldest Vedic hymns were composed, it is known as the Vedic 
religion. 

117. Brahmanism and the Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls. 
As time passed, this nature worship of the Vedic period developed 
into a form of religion known as Brahmanism. It is so named from 

1 At a later period the Brahmans arrogated to themselves the highest rank. 



io8 THE EAST ASIAN PEOPLES [§118 

Brahma, which is the Hindu name for the Supreme Being. Below 
Brahma there are many gods. 

A chief doctrine of Brahmanism is that all life, apart from 
Brahma, is travail and sorrow. We can make this idea plain to our- 
selves by recalling what are our own ideas of this earthly life. We 
call it a feverish dream, a journey through a vale of sorrow. Now 
the Hindu regards all existence, whether in this world or in another, 
in the same light. The only way to deliverance from pain and evil 
lies in communion with and final reabsorption into Brahma. But this 
return to Brahma is dependent upon the soul's purification, for no 
impure soul can be reunited with the Universal Soul. The purity of 
soul required for reunion with Brahma can best be attained by living 
aloof from society and by contemplation and self-torture ; hence the 
asceticism of the Hindu devotee. 

As only a few in each generation reach the goal, it follows that the 
great majority of men must be bom again and yet again, until all 
evil has been purged away from the soul and eternal repose found in 
Brahma. He who lives a virtuous life is at death born into some 
higher caste or better state, and thus he advances towards the longed- 
for end. The evil man, however, is born into a lower caste, or per- 
haps his soul enters some unclean animal, or is imprisoned in some 
shrub or tree. This doctrine of rebirth is known as the Transmigration 
of Souls. 

In the early period only the first three classes were admitted to the 
benefits of religion. The Sudras and the outcasts were forbidden to 
read the sacred books, and for any one of the upper classes to teach 
a serf how to atone for sin was a crime. 

118. Buddhism. In the fifth century before our era a great teacher 
and reformer named Gautama (about 557-477 B.C.), but better known 
as Buddha, that is, " the Enlightened," arose in India. He was more 
Christlike than any other teacher whose life and words are known to 
us. He was of noble birth, but legend represents him as being so 
touched by the universal misery of mankind that he voluntarily aban- 
doned the luxury of his home and spent his life in seeking out and 
making known to men a new and better way of salvation. His creed 
was very simple. What he taught the people was that they should 



§119] ALEXANDER'S INVASION OF INDIA 109 

seek salvation — that is, deliverance from existence, which like the 
Brahman he felt to be an evil — not through sacrifices and rites and 
self-torture, but through honesty and purity of heart, through charity 
and tenderness and compassion toward all creatures that have life. 

Buddha admitted all classes to the benefits of religion, the poor 
outcast as well as the high-born Brahman, and thus Buddhism was 
a revolt against the earlier exclusive system of Brahmanism. 

Buddhism gradually gained ascendancy over Brahmanism ; but 
after some centuries the Brahmans regained their power, and by 
the eighth century after Christ the faith of Buddha had died out 
or had been crowded out of almost every part of India. 

But Buddhism has a profound missionary spirit, like that of Chris- 
tianity, Buddha having commanded his disciples to make known to all 
men the way to salvation ; and consequently during the very period 
when India was being lost, the missionaries of the reformed creed 
were spreading the teachings of their master among the peoples of 
all the countries of eastern Asia, so that to-day Buddhism is the 
religion of almost one third of the human race. Buddha has probably 
nearly as many followers as both Christ and Mohammed together. 

During its long contact with Buddhism, Brahmanism was greatly 
modified, and caught much of the gentler spirit of the new faith, so 
that modern Brahmanism is a very different religion from that of the 
ancient system ; hence it is usually given a new name, being known 
as Hinduism.^ 

119. Alexander's Invasion of India (327 B.C.). Although we find 
obscure notices of India in the records of the early historic peoples 
of western Asia, yet it is not until the invasion of the peninsula by 
Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. that the history of the Indian Aryans 
comes in significant contact with that of the progressive nations of 
the West. 

From that day to our own its systems of philosophy, its wealth, 
and its commerce have been more or less important factors in 
universal history. Columbus was seeking a short all-sea route to 

1 Among the customs introduced or revived by the Brahmans during this period 
was the rite of suttee, or the voluntary burning of the widow on the funeral pyre of 
her husband. 



no THE EAST ASIAN PEOPLES [§120 

this country when he found the New World. And in the upbuilding 
of the imperial greatness of the England of to-day, the wealth and 
trade of India have played no inconsiderable part. 

II. CHINA 

120. General Remarks : the Beginning. China was the cradle of 
a very old civilization, older perhaps than that of any other lands save 
Egypt and Babylonia ; yet Chinese affairs have not until recently 
exercised any direct influence upon the general current of history. All 
through the later ancient and mediaeval times the country lay, vague 
and mysterious, in the haze of the world's horizon. During the Middle 
Ages the land was known to Europe under the name of Cathay. 

The beginning of the Chinese nation was a band of Mongolian 
wanderers who came from the west into the Yellow River valley, 
probably prior to 3000 b.c. These immigrants pushed out or ab- 
sorbed the aborigines whom they found in the land, and laid the 
basis of institutions that have endured to the present day. 

121. Dynastic History. The Chinese have books that purport to 
give the history of the different dynasties that have ruled in the land 
from a vast antiquity ; but these records are largely mythical. While it 
is possible to glean some assured historic facts from the third and second 
millenniums B.C., it is not until we reach the eighth century B.C. that 
we tread on firm historical ground ; and even then we meet with little 
of interest in the dynastic history of the country until we come to the 
reign of Che Hwang-te-*^ (221-209 b.c). This energetic ruler consoli- 
dated the imperial power, and executed great works of internal im- 
provement, such as roads and canals. As a barrier against the 
incursions of the Huns, he began the erection of the celebrated 
Chinese Wall, a great rampart extending for about fifteen hundred 
miles along the northern frontier of the country.^ 

From the strong reign of Che Hwang-te to the end of the period 
covered by ancient history, Chinese dynastic records present no 
matters of universal interest that need here occupy our attention. 

1 Or Shih Hwang-ti. 

2 The Great Wall is one of the most remarkable works of man. "It is," says 
Dr. Williams, " the only artificial structure which would arrest attention in a hasty 
survey of the globe." 



§122] CHINESE WRITING III 

122. Chinese Writing. It is nearly certain that the art of phonetic 
writing (sect. 1 1) was known among the Chinese as early as 2000 b.c. 
The system employed is curiously cumbrous. In the absence of an 
alphabet, each word or idea is represented by means of a symbol, 
or combination of symbols ; this, of course, requires that there be 
as many symbols or characters as there are words in the language. 
The number sanctioned by good use is about twenty-five thousand ; 
but counting obsolete signs, the number amounts to over fifty thou- 
sand. A knowledge of five or six thousand characters, however, 
enables one to read and write without difficulty. The nature of the 
signs shows conclusively that the Chinese system of writing, like 
that of all others 

with which we are /^ y--y ^ {U -w ^ A\ 

acquainted, was at W ^^ iZIl (t\ 7> ^^^ A 
first pure picture __. 

writing (sect. 11). ^ ^l UJ ^ "I^' S> A 
Time and use have 1 2 3 4 5 6? 

worn the pictorial Fig. 73. Showing the Derivation of Modern 

symbols to their Chinese Characters from Earlier Pictorial 

. r Writing. (From Deniker) 

present form. ^ 

This Chinese Sys- The upper line shows file earlier forms: i, morning; 
tern of representing ^' "°°" : 3, mountain ; 4, tree ; 5, dog ; 6, horse ; 7, man 

thought, cumbrous 

and inconvenient as it is, is employed at the present time by one 

third of the human race. 

Printing from blocks was practiced in China as early as the sixth 
century of our era, and printing from movable types as early as the 
tenth or eleventh century, — that is to say, about four hundred years 
before the same art was invented in Europe. 

123. The Teachers Confucius and Mencius. The great teacher of 
the Chinese was Confucius (551-478 b.c). He was not a prophet 
or revealer; he laid no claims to a supernatural knowledge of God 
or of the hereafter; he said nothing of an Infinite Spirit, and but 
little of a future life. His cardinal precepts were obedience to parents 
and superiors, and reverence for the ancients and imitation of their 
virtues. He himself walked in the old paths, and thus added the 



112 THE EAST ASIAN PEOPLES [§124 

force of example to that of precept. He gave the Chinese the 
Golden Rule, stated negatively : " What you do not want done to 
yourself, do not do to others." The influence of Confucius has 
probably been greater than that of any other teacher excepting 
Christ and perhaps Buddha. 

Another great teacher of the Chinese was Mencius (372-288 B.C.). 
He was a disciple of Confucius and a scarcely less revered philosopher 
and moral teacher. 

124. Chinese Literature. The most highly prized portion of Chinese 
literature is embraced in what is known as the Five Classics and the 
Four Books, called collectively the Nine Classics. A considerable 
part of the material of the Five Classics was collected and edited by 
Confucius. The Four Books, though not written by Confucius, yet 
bear the impress of his mind and thought, just as the Gospels teach 
the mind of Christ. The cardinal virtue inculcated by all the sacred 
writings is filial piety. The second great moral requirement is 
conformity to ancient custom. 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the influence which the Nine 
Classics have had upon the Chinese nation. For more than two 
thousand years these writings have been the Chinese Bible. But their 
influence has not been wholly good. The Chinese in strictly obeying 
the injunction to walk in the old ways, to conform to the customs of 
the ancients, have failed to mark out new footpaths for themselves. 
Hence their lack of originality, their habit of imitation ; hence one cause 
of the unprogressive character of Chinese civilization. 

125. Education and Civil-Service Competitive Examinations. China 
has a very ancient educational system. The land was filled with schools, 
academies, and colleges more than a thousand years before our era. 
Until recently a knowledge of the sacred books was the sole passport 
to civil office and public employment. All candidates for places in 
the government had to pass a series of competitive examinations in 
the Nine Classics. 

126. The Three Religions : Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. 
There are three leading religions in China — Confucianism, Taoism, 
and Buddhism. The great sage Confucius is reverenced and wor- 
shiped throughout the empire. He holds somewhat the same relation 



§127] THE CHINESE AND WESTERN CULTURE 113 

to the system which bears his name that Christ holds to that of Chris- 
tianity. Taoism takes its name from Tao, which means Nature's way 
or method. It is a very curious system of mystical ideas and super- 
stitious practices. Buddhism was introduced into China about the 
opening of the Christian era, and soon became widely spread. 

There is one element mingled with all these religions, and that 
is the worship of ancestors. Every Chinese, whether he be a Con- 
fucianist, a Taoist, or a Buddhist, reverences his ancestors and prays 
and makes offerings to their spirits. 

127. The Chinese Outside the Western Circle of Ancient Culture. 
Though constituting so important a factor in the East Asian circle of 
culture, the Chinese during ancient times, as we have already inti- 
mated, did not contribute any historically important elements to the 
civilization of the West Asian and Mediterranean lands. What contri- 
butions this great people will make to the general civilization of the 
future, the future alone will disclose. 

References. For India : Ragozin, The Story of Vedic India. Hunter, A 
B7-ief Histo7y of the Indian Peoples, chaps, i-vi. DuTT, The Civilization of 
India, chaps, i-v. Rhys Davids, Buddhist India and Buddhis?n, its History 
and Literature. Hopkins, The Religions of India. Arnold, The Light of 
Asia (this is Buddhism idealized). 

For China : Williams, A Histofy of China, chap, i (this work comprises 
the historical chapters of the author's The Middle Kingdom). Go wen, An 
Outline History of China, pt. i, earlier chapters. Legge, The Religions of 
China. Giles, The Civilization of China, chaps, i— iii, and A History of Chinese 
Literature, pp. 3-116. De Groot, The Religion of the Chinese and Religion iti 
Chifta. Martin, The Lore of Cathay. Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese. 
Geil, The Great IVall of China (valuable for its illustrations ; the literary 
qualities of the book cannot be commended). 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The old Chinese civil service competition 
examinations -. Martin, The Lore of Cathay, chap, xvii ; Doolittle, Social 
Life of the Chinese, chap, xv-xvii. 2. The worship of ancestors and filial 
piety : Martin, The Lore of Cathay, chap, xv ; Legge, The Religion of China, 
lect. ii, pp. 69-95; Giles, The Civilization of China, pp. T^-JJ. 



PART II. GREECE 

CHAPTER XI 
THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 

128. Hellas. The ancient people whom we call Greeks called 
themselves Hellenes and their land Hellas. But this term Hellas 
as used by the ancient Greeks embraced much more than modern 
Greece. " Wherever were Hellenes there was Hellas." Thus the 
name included not only Greece proper and the islands of the adjoin- 
ing seas, but also the Hellenic cities on the shore-lands of Asia Minor, 
in southern Italy, and in Sicily, besides many other Greek settlements 
scattered up and down the Mediterranean and along the shores of 
the Hellespont and the Euxine. 

Yet Greece proper was the real homeland of the Hellenes and 
the actual center of classical Greek life and culture. Therefore it 
will be necessary for us to gain at least some slight knowledge of 
the divisions and the physical features of this country before passing 
to the history of the people themselves. 

129. Divisions of Greece. Long arms of the sea divide the Greek 
peninsula into three parts, called Northern, Central, and Southern 
Greece. The southern portion, joined to the mainland by the Isthmus 
of Corinth, and now generally known as the Morea, was called by 
the ancients the Peloponnesus, that is, the Island of Pelops, from 
the fabled founder there of a mythic line of kings. 

Northern Greece included the ancient districts of Thessaly and 
Epirus. Thessaly consists mainly of a large and beautiful mountain- 
walled valley. On its northern edge, between Olympus and Ossa, 
is a beautiful glen, named by the ancients the Vale of Tempe, the 
only practicable pass by which the plain of Thessaly can be entered 
from the side of the sea. The district of Epirus stretched along 

H4 




Tcenarum, Prom. 



GENERAL REFERENCE MAP 
OF 

ANCIENT GREECE 



10 20 30 <tO 50 



§129] 



DIVISIONS OF GREECE 



115 



r 



~\ 



the Ionian Sea on the west. In the deep recesses of its forests 
of oak was situated the renowned Dodonean oracle of Zeus. 

Central Greece was divided into eleven districts, among which 
were Phocis, Boeotia, and Attica. In Phocis was the city of Delphi, 
famous for its oracle and temple ; in Boeotia, the city of Thebes ; 
and in Attica, the brilliant Athens. Boeotia has been called " the 
stage of Ares" (the Greek god of war), because, like Belgium in 
modern Europe, it was so often the battle-ground of the warring 
Greek cities. The Attic land, as. we shall learn, was the true center 
of the artistic and 
the intellectual life of 
Hellas. 

The chief districts 
of Southern Greece 
were Corinthia, Ar- 
cadia, Argolis, La- 
conia, Messenia, and 
Elis. 

The main part of 
Corinthia formed the 
isthmus uniting the 
Peloponnesus to Cen- 
tral Greece. Its chief 

city was Corinth, the gateway of the peninsula, and the most 
important station on the great trade sea-route between eastern and 
western Hellas. 

Arcadia, sometimes called " the Switzerland of the Peloponne- 
sus," formed the heart of the peninsula. This region consists of 
broken uplands shut in from the surrounding coast plains by irreg- 
ular mountain walls. The inhabitants of this district, because thus 
isolated, were, in the general intellectual movement of the Greek 
race, left far behind the dwellers in the more open and favored por- 
tions of Greece. It is the rustic, simple life of the Arcadians that 
has given the term Arcadian its meaning of pastoral simplicity. 

Argolis formed a tongue of land jutting out into the ^gean. 
This region is noted as the home of an early prehistoric culture, 




-'-^^. 



Fig. 74. Gallery in the South Wall 

AT TiRYNS 

"Tiryns the strong-walled." — Iliad, ii, 559 



Il6 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE [§129 

and holds to-day the remains of cities — Mycenae and Tiryns — 
the kings of which built great palaces, possessed vast treasures in 
gold and silver, and held v^ide sway centuries before Athens had 
made for herself a name and place in history. The chief city of 
the region during the historic period was Argos. 

Laconia, or Lacedaemon, embraced the southeastern part of the Pel- 
oponnesus. A prominent feature of the physical geography of this 
region is a deep river valley, — the valley of the Eurotas, — whence 




Fig. 75. The Plain of Olympia. (From Boetticher, Olympia) 
The valley of the Alpheus in Elis, where were held the celebrated Olympic games 

the descriptive term, hollow Lacedaemon. This district was ruled by 
the city of Sparta, the great rival of Athens. 

Messenia was a rich and fruitful region lying to the west of 
Laconia. It nourished a vigorous race, who in early times carried 
on a stubborn struggle with the Spartans, by whom they were 
finally overpowered. 

Elis, a district on the western side of the Peloponnesus, is chiefly 
noted as the consecrated land which held Olympia, the great assem- 
bling place of the Greeks on the occasion of the celebration of the 
most famous of their national festivals — the so-called Olympic games. 



§130] MOUNTAINS 117 

130. Mountains. The Cambunian Mountains form a lofty wall 
along a considerable reach of the northern frontier of Greece, shut- 
ting out at once the cold winds and hostile races of the north. 
Branching off at right angles to these mountains is the Pindus 
range, which runs south into Central Greece. 

On the northern border of Thessaly is Mount Olympus, the most 
celebrated mountain of the peninsula. The Greeks thought it the 
highest mountain in the world (it is about ten thousand feet high), 
and believed that its cloudy summit was the' abode of the gods. 

South of Olympus, close by the sea, are Ossa and Pelion, cele- 
brated in fable as the mountains which the giants, in their war 
against the gods, piled one upon the other and both upon Olympus, 
in order to scale the heavens. 

Parnassus and Helicon, in Central Greece — beautiful mountains 
clad with trees and vines and filled with fountains — were believed 
to be the favorite haunts of the Muses. Near Athens are Hymettus, 
praised for its honey, and Pentelicus, renowned for its marbles. The 
Peloponnesus is rugged with mountains that radiate in all directions 
from the central country of Arcadia. 

131. The Rivers and Lakes of the Land. Greece has no rivers 
large enough to be of service to commerce. Most of the streams 
are scarcely more than winter torrents. Among the most important 
streams are the Peneus, which drains the Thessalian plain ; the 
Alpheus in Elis, on the banks of which the Olympic games were 
celebrated ; and the Eurotas, which threads the central valley of 
Laconia. The Ilissus and Cephissus are little streams of Attica 
which owe their renown chiefly to the poets. 

The lakes of Greece are in the main scarcely more than stagnant 
pools, the back water of spring freshets. In this respect, Greece, 
though a mountainous country, presents a striking contrast to 
Switzerland, whose numerous and deep lakes form one of the 
most attractive features of Swiss scenery. 

132. Islands about Greece. Very much of the history of Greece 
is intertwined with the islands that lie about the mainland. On the 
east, in the ^4^^gean Sea, are the Cyclades, so called because they 
form an irregular circle round the sacred island of Delos, where 



Il8 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE [§133 

was a very celebrated shrine of Apollo. Between the Cyclades and 
Asia Minor lie the Sporades, which islands, as the name implies, 
are sown irregularly over that portion of the ^gean. They are 
simply the peaks of submerged mountain ranges, which may be 
regarded as a continuation beneath the sea of the mountains of 
Central Greece. 

Just off the coast of Attica is a large island called by the ancients 
Euboea. Close to the Asian shores are the large islands of Lemnos, 
Lesbos, Chios, Samos,' and Rhodes. 

In the Mediterranean, midway between Greece and Egypt, is 
the large island of Crete, noted in legend for its Labyrinth and its 
legislator Minos. This island was, before the historic age in Greece, 
a sort of midway station between the ^gean lands and Africa, and 
became the home of one of the earliest civilizations of antiquity. 
Tradition affirms that there were in the island in prehistoric times 
a hundred cities.^ To the west of Greece lie the Ionian Islands, the 
largest of which was called Corcyra (now Corfu). 

133. Climate and Productions. There is a great variety in the 
climate of Greece. In the north and upon the uplands the climate 
is temperate, in the south semitropical. The slopes of the mountains 
in Northern Greece and in Arcadia support forests of beech, oak, 
and pine ; while the southern districts of the Peloponnesus nourish 
the date palm, the citron, and the orange. Attica, midway between 
the north and the south, is the home of the olive and the fig. The 
vine grows luxuriantly in almost every part of the land. Wheat, 
barley, grapes,^ and oil are to-day, as they were in ancient times, 
the chief products of the country ; but flax, honey, and the products 
of herds of cattle and sheep have always formed a considerable part 
of the economic wealth of the land. 

The hills of Greece supplied many of the useful metals. The 
ranges of the Taygetus, in Laconia, yielded iron, in which the Lace- 
daemonians became skillful workers. Euboea furnished copper, which 
created a great industry. The hills of southern Attica contained 

1 Iliad, ii, 649. 

2 At the present time the seedless grape (" currant ") is the most profitable of 
all exports. 



§134] THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 119 

silver mines, which helped the Athenians to build their earliest navy.^ 
Mountains near Athens and the hills of the island of Paros' afforded 
beautiful marbles, which made possible the creation of such splendid 
temples as the Parthenon. 

134. Influence of the Land upon the People. The physical 
geography of a country has much to do with molding the character 
and shaping the history of its people. Mountains, isolating neigh- 
boring communities and shutting out conquering races, foster the 
spirit of local patriotism and preserve freedom ; the sea, inviting 
abroad and rendering intercourse with distant countries easy, awakens 
the spirit of adventure and develops commercial enterprise. 

Now Greece is at once a mountainous and a maritime country. 
Mountain walls fence it off into a great number of isolated districts, 
and this is probably one reason why the Greeks formed so many 
small independent states, and never could be brought to feel or to 
act as a single nation.^ 

The Grecian peninsula is, moreover, converted by deep arms and 
bays of the sea into what is in effect an archipelago. There is no 
spot in Greece below Epirus and Thessaly which is over forty miles 
from the sea. Hence the Greeks were early tempted to a sea-faring 
life — tempted to follow what Homer calls the "wet paths" of 
Ocean, to see whither they might lead. Intercourse with the old 
civilizations of the Orient — which Greece faces ^ — stirred the natu- 
rally quick and versatile Greek intellect to early and vigorous 
thought. The islands strewn with seeming carelessness through 
the ^gean Sea were " stepping-stones," which invited intercourse 
between the settlers of Greece and the inhabitants of the delightful 
coast countries of Asia Minor, and thus blended the life and history 
of the opposite shores. 

1 See sect. 220. 

2 The history of the cantons of Switzerland affords a somewhat similar illustra- 
tion of the influence of the physical features of a country upon the political fortunes 
of its inhabitants. But we must be careful not to exaggerate the influence of geog- 
raphy upon Greek history. For the root of feelings and sentiments which were far 
more potent than geographical conditions in keeping the Greek cities apart, see 
sects. 154, 155. 

3 That is to say, the most and the best of her harbors are on her eastern shore. Greece 
thus turns her back, as it were, to Italy. 



I20 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE [§135 

How much the sea did in developing enterprise and intelligence 
in the cities of the maritime districts of Greece is shown by the con- 
trast which the advancing culture of these regions presented to the 
lagging civilization of the peoples of the interior districts; as, for 
instance, those of Arcadia. 

135. The Hellenes. The historic inhabitants of the land we have 
described were called Greeks by the Romans ; but, as we have already 
learned, they called themselves Hellenes, from their fabled ancestor 
Hellen. They were divided into four families or tribes — Achaeans, 
lonians, Dorians, and vEolians. These several tribes, united by bonds 
of language and religion, always regarded themselves as kinsmen. All 
non-Hellenic people they called barbarians} 

When the mists of prehistoric times first rise from Greece, about 
the beginning of the eighth century B.C., we discover the several fami- 
lies of the Hellenic race in possession of Greece proper, of the islands 
of the ^gean, and of the western coast of Asia Minor. Respecting 
their prehistoric migrations and settlements we have little or no cer- 
tain knowledge. In the next chapter we shall see how they pictured 
to themselves the past of the yEgean lands. 

References. Curtius, vol. i, pp. 9-46.2 Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. ii, 
pp. 141-163. Abbott, vol. i, chap. i. Holm, vol. i, chap. ii. Bury, History of 
Greece, pp. 1-5. Tozer, Classical Geography (Primer). Richardson, Vacation 
Days in Greece (Dr. Richardson was for many years Director of the American 
School of Archasology at Athens ; his delightful sketches of excursions to in- 
teresting historical sites will give a much better idea of the physical features 
of Greece than all the formal descriptions of the geographers). Butcher, 
Some Aspects of the Greek Ge^iius (for the advanced student). 'M.A'fi \tt, ^geaft 
Days (has pictures of the life and scenes of the isles of the .^^gean by one 
" smitten with the love of Greece "). 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The nature and features of the land as 
factors in Greek life and history: Grote, vol. ii, pp. 153-157; Holm, vol. i, 
pp. 29, 30; Abbott, vol. i, pp. 19-23. Bury, History of Greece, pp. 4, 5. 
2. The marble quarries of Paros : Manatt, ^-Egean Days, chap, xvii, " Paros 
the Marble Island." 

1 At first this term meant scarcely more than " unintelligible folk " ; but later it came 
to express aversion and contempt. 

2 We shall throughout cite the standard extended histories of Greece and of Rome 
by giving merely the author's name with volume and page. 



CHAPTER XII 
PREHISTORIC TIMES ACCORDING TO GREEK ACCOUNTS 

136. Character and Value of the Legends. The Greeks of historic 
times possessed a great store of wonderful legends and tales of the 
foretime in Greece. Though many of these stories were doubtless in 
large part a pure creation of the Greek imagination, still for two rea- 
sons the historical student must make himself familiar with them. 
First, because the historic Greeks believed them to be true, and hence 
were greatly influenced by them. What has been said of the war 
against Troy, namely, " If not itself a fact, the Trojan War became 
the cause of innumerable facts," is true of the whole body of Greek 
legends. These tales were recited by the historian, dramatized by the 
tragic poet, cut in marble by the sculptor, and depicted by the painter 
on the walls of portico and temple. They thus constituted a very 
vital part of the education of every Greek. 

Second, a knowledge of these legends is of value to the student of 
Greek history because recent discoveries in the yEgean lands prove 
that at least some of them contain a certain element of truth, that 
they are memories, though confused memories, of actual events. 

Therefore, as a prelude to the story we have to tell we shall in 
the present chapter repeat some of these tales, selecting chiefly those 
that contain references to a wonderful civilization which is repre- 
sented as having existed in the ^gean lands in prehistoric times, 
but which long before authentic Greek history opens had vanished, 
leaving behind barely more than a dim memory. In what measure 
these particular legends may reflect a real past we shall see in the 
next chapter. 

137. Oriental Immigrants. The legends of the Greeks represent 
the early growth of civilization among them as having been promoted 
by the settlement in Greece of oriental immigrants, who brought 



122 



PREHISTORIC TIMES 



[§138 



with them the arts and culture of the East. Thus from Egypt, legend 
affirms, came Cecrops, bringing with him the arts, learning, and 
priestly wisdom of the Nile valley. He is represented as the builder 
of Cecropia, which became afterwards the citadel of the illustrious 
city of Athens. From Phoenicia Cadmus brought the letters of the 
alphabet, and founded the city of Thebes. 

The nucleus of fact in these legends is probably this — that the 
European Greeks received certain of the elements of their culture 
from the East. Without doubt they received thence letters, a gift 
of incomparable value, and hints in art, be- 
sides suggestions and facts in philosophy and 
science. 

138. The Heroes; Heracles. The Greeks 
believed that their ancestors were a race of 
heroes of divine or semidivine lineage. Every 
tribe, district, city, and village even, preserved 
traditions of its heroes, whose wonderful ex- 
ploits were commemorated in song and story. 
Heracles was the greatest of the national 
heroes of the Greeks. He is represented as 
performing twelve superhuman labors, and as being at last trans- 
lated from a blazing pyre to a place among the immortal gods. The 
myth of Heracles is made up in part of the very same tales that 
were told of the Chaldean hero Gilgamesh (sect. 59). Through the 
Phoenicians and the peoples of Asia Minor these stories found their 
way to the Greeks, who ascribed to their own Heracles the deeds 
of the Babylonian hero.-^ 

139. Minos the Lawgiver and Sea-king of Crete. Many of the 
Greek legends cluster about the island of Crete. These have much 
to do with a great ruler named Minos, king of Cnossus, a city on 
the northern shore of the island. In some of the traditions he appears 
as the " Cretan Moses." He is represented as being the giver to 
his people of laws received, in a cave on a high mountain, from his 




Fig. 76. The Laby- 
rinth. (From a coin) 



1 Originally a solar divinity, Heracles, transferred from the heavens to the earth and 
idealized by the Greek moralists, became the personification and type of the lofty moral 
qualities of heroism, endurance, and self-sacrifice in the service of others (see sect. 359). 



§140] 



THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR 



123 



reputed father Zeus. He is further made to be the founder of the 
first great maritime state in the ^gean, and the suppressor of piracy 
in those waters. Some versions of the tradition make him to have 
been a cruel tyrant, who kept in a structure called the Labyrinth 
a monster named the Minotaur (Minos-bull), a creature half man 
and half bull, which he fed 

upon youths and maidens ,r^^W^^'^^ ^ j 

whom he exacted every 
year as a tribute from the 
city of Athens. 

140. Theseus and the 
Minotaur. Theseus was the 
favorite hero of the Athe- 
nians, being one of their 
legendary kings. Among his 
exploits, while yet a youth, 
was the slaying of the Cretan 
Minotaur. When the fatal 
time came round for the pay- 
ment of the tribute of boys 
and girls, Theseus offered 
himself as one of the num- 
ber, being resolved on kill- 
ing the monster. Upon his 
arrival in Crete the fair- 
haired Ariadne, daughter of 
Minos, fell in love with him, 
and gave him a clew of thread which would guide him through the 
mazes of the Labyrinth. With this aid Theseus was able, after slay- 
ing the Minotaur, to find his way out of the Labyrinth and escape. 
Of what actual facts, doubtless mingled with mythological elements 
and colored by the imagination, this and the Minos legend may be a 
confused recollection we shall learn in the following chapter.^ 

1 The very galley in which Theseus was believed to have made his voyage was 
religiously preserved at Athens till as late as the third century B.C., and was sent each 
year to the island of Delos on a mission commemorative of his exploit (see sect. 266). 




Fig. 77. Theseus and the Minotaur 

" The Athenian potter was always sure of a mar- 
ket for his vases with pictures of the bull-headed 
Minotaur falling to the sword of the national 
hero." — Baikie, Sea-kings of Crete 



124 PREHISTORIC TIMES [§141 

141. Daedalus the Architect and Sculptor. Closely connected with 
the legendary figures of Minos and Theseus is that of Daedalus. 
The tradition represents him as an Athenian-born architect, inventor, 
and sculptor of unsurpassed ingenuity and excellence. He made 
statues in the attitude of walking that had to be chained to their 
pedestals so that they should not run away. Skilled in architecture, 
he constructed for Minos the famous Labyrinth, and a " dancing- 
floor " for the king's daughter, Ariadne. For aiding Ariadne in the 
Theseus adventure, or, as some say, for another fault, he was con- 
fined by Minos in the Labyrinth, from which, however, he escaped 
by ingeniously attaching wings to his body, and flew to the island of 
Sicily. Pursuing him thither with a fleet and army, Minos met a 
tragic death in the island. What actual facts connected with the ori- 
gin and development of architecture and art in the ^gean lands 
may be embodied in this legend will appear later. 

142. The Argonautic Expedition. Besides the labors and exploits 
of single heroes, such as we have been naming, the legends of the 
Greeks tell of various memorable enterprises which were conducted 
by bands of heroes. Among these were the Argonautic Expedition 
and the Siege of Troy. 

The tale of the Argonauts is told with many variations in the 
legends of the Greeks. Jason, a prince of Thessaly, with fifty com- 
panion heroes, among whom were Heracles, Theseus, and Orpheus, 

— the latter a musician of superhuman skill, the music of whose lyre 
moved trees and stones, — set sail in "a fifty-oared galley" called 
the Argo (hence the name Argo7iauts, given to the heroes), in search 
of a " golden fleece " which was fabled to be nailed to a tree and 
watclied by a dragon in a grove on the eastern shore of the Euxine 

— an inhospitable region of unknown terrors. The expedition was 
successful, and after .many wonderful adventures the heroes returned 
in triumph with the sacred relic. 

In its origin and primitive form this tale was doubtless an oriental 
nature myth ; but in the shape given it by the Greek story-tellers it 
may be taken as symbolizing the explorations and adventures of the 
prehistoric Greeks or their predecessors in the North ^gean and 
the Euxine. 



§143] 



THE TROJAN WAR 



125 



143. The Trojan War (legendary date, 1194-1184 B.C.). The Trojan 
War was an event about which gathered a great circle of tales and 
poems, all full of an undying interest and fascination. 

Ilios, or Troy, was a strong-walled city which had grown up in 
Asia Minor just south of the Hellespont. The traditions tell how 
Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, visited the Spartan king Menelaus, 
and ungenerously requited his hospitality by secretly bearing away 
to Troy his wife Helen, fa- 
mous for her rare beauty. 

All the heroes of Greece 
flew to arms to avenge the 
wrong. A host of a hun- 
dred thousand warriors was 
speedily gathered. Aga- 
memnon, brother of Mene- 
laus and king of Mycenae, 
" wide-way ed and rich in 
gold," was chosen leader 
of the expedition. Under 
him were the '' lion-hearted 
Achilles " of Thessaly, the 
" crafty Odysseus," king of 
Ithaca, the aged Nestor, 
and many more — the most 
valiant heroes of all Hellas. 
Twelve hundred galleys bore the gathered clans across the ^gean, 
from Aulis to the Trojan shores. 

For ten years the Greeks and their allies hold in close siege the 
city of Priam. On the plains beneath the walls of the capital the war- 
riors of the two armies fight in general battle or contend in single 
encounter. At first Achilles is foremost in every fight ; but a fair- 
faced maiden, who had fallen to him as a prize, having been taken 
from him by his chief, Agamemnon, he is filled with wrath and 
sulks in his tent. Though the Greeks are often sorely pressed, still 
the angered hero refuses them his aid. At last, however, his friend 
Patroclus is killed by Hector, eldest son of Priam, and then Achilles 




Fig. 78. The Lions' Gate at Mycen/e 



126 



PREHISTORIC TIMES 



[§144 




Fig. 79. Battle at the Ships between the 
Greeks and Trojans. (After a vase painting) 



goes forth to avenge his death. In a fierce combat he slays Hector, 
fastens his body to a chariot, and drags it thrice round the walls 
of Troy. These later events, beginning with the wrath of Achilles 
and ending with the funeral rites of Patroclus and Hector, form the 
subject of the Hiad of Homer. 

The city was at last taken through a device of the artful Odys- 
seus, and was sacked and burned to the ground. yEneas, with his 
aged father Anchises and a few devoted followers, escaped, and 
after long wanderings reached the Italian land and there became 

the founder of the 
Roman race. 

What nucleus of 
fact is embodied in 
this, the most elabo- 
rate and interesting 
of the Greek legends, 
the sequel of our 
story will disclose. 
144. The Home-coming of the Greek Chieftains. After the fall of 
Troy the Greek chieftains and princes returned home. The legends 
represent the gods as withdrawing their protection from the hitherto 
favored heroes, because they had not spared the altars of the Trojans. 
Consequently many of them were driven in endless wanderings over 
sea and land. Homer's Odyssey portrays the sufferings of the " much- 
enduring Odysseus," impelled by divine wrath to long journeyings 
through strange seas. 

In some cases, according to the tradition, advantage had been 
taken of . the absence of the princes, and their thrones had been 
usurped. Thus in Argolis, ^Egisthus had won the unholy love of 
Clytemnestra, wife and queen of Agamemnon, who on his return 
was murdered by the guilty couple. A tradition current among the 
Greeks of later times pointed out Mycenae as the place where the 
unfortunate king and those slain with him were buried. In pleasing 
contrast with the disloyalty of the queen of Agamemnon, we have 
exhibited to us the constancy of Penelope, although sought by many 
suitors, during the absence of her husband Odysseus. 



§145] THE DORIAN INVASION 1 27 

145. The Dorian Invasion, or the Return of the Heraclidee 
(legendary date, 1104 B.C.). Legend tells how Heracles in the times 
before the Trojan War ruled over the Peloponnesian Achaeans. 
Just before that event his children were driven from the land. After 
a hundred years of exile the descendants of the hero returned at the 
head of the Dorians from Northern Greece, conquered the greater 
part of the Peloponnesus, and established themselves as masters in 
the land that had formerly been ruled by their semidivine ancestor. 

The legend connects with this conquest the colonization and settle- 
ment by the Greeks of the islands and eastern shore-lands of the 
JEgea.n. As we shall see, the tradition doubtless preserves the 
memory of a great upheaval and shifting of the prehistoric popula- 
tion of peninsular Greece caused by the intrusion of the conquering 
Dorian race. 

Selections from the Sources. Thucydides (Jowett's trans.), i, 4, 8, 10-12 
(on Minos, Mycenae, and the Trojan War). I/iad (Bryant's trans.), xviii, 601- 
762 (the shield of Achilles). Oc/)>ssey (Palmer's trans.), xxi, xxii (Odysseus 
and the suitors). There have recently appeared a number of excellent source 
books on ancient history. One or more of these should be in every high- 
school library, especially if the library does not contain the original works in 
translation. For this chapter pertinent selections will be found in Thallon's 
Readitigs in Greek History, pp. 9-27. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. i, pp. 70-74. Holm, vol. i, chap. x. 
Baikie, The Sea-kings of Crete, chap. i. Gayley, The Classical JMyths in 
English Literature and in Art (rev. ed., 191 1), chaps, xiv-xxiv (gives with 
illustrative quotation and comment the tales of the older and the younger 
Greek heroes, including the legends of the Argonauts (pp. 229-233), the 
Seven against Thebes (pp. 265-26S), and the Trojan War (pp. 277-306)). 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Tales of Crete — Minos, Theseus, and 
Ariadne : Harrison, The Sto>y of Gj-eece, chap. viii. 2. Change in the opinion 
of scholars in regard to the historical elements in Greek legends : Baikie, The 
Sea-kings of Crete, chap. i. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE AEGEAN CIVILIZATION 

146. Introduction. In the preceding chapter we saw what embel- 
lished tales the Greeks of the historic age told of the foretime in 
Greece. In the present chapter we shall see what basis of fact some 
at least of these legends had — what research and excavation have 
revealed respecting the existence in the ^gean lands of a wonderful 
civilization which was in its bloom a thousand years and more before 




Fig. 8o. Hissarlik, the Probable Site of Ancient Troy 
(From a photograph) 

the opening of recorded Greek history. A closing paragraph will 
indicate the probable relation of this prehistoric civilization to the" 
brilliant culture of the Greeks of the historic period. 

147. Discoveries on the Site of Ancient Troy. The first of the dis- 
coveries which have revealed the existence in the ^gean lands of an 
advanced civilization almost as old as that of Egypt were made by 
Dr. Schliemann, an enthusiastic student of Homer who believed in 
the poet as a narrator of actual events. In the year 1870 he began 
to make excavations in the Troad (at Hissarlik), on a spot pointed 
out by tradition as the site of ancient Troy. His faith was largely 
rewarded. He found the upper part of the hill where he carried on 
his operations to consist of the remains of a succession of nine towns 
or settlements. In the second stratum from the bottom he found 
remains of such a character that he was led to believe that they were 

128 



§147] DISCOVERIES ON SITE OF ANCIENT TROY 129 

the actual memorials of the Troy of the Iliad. Besides uncovering 
massive walls and gateways, he exhumed numerous articles of ar- 
chaic workmanship in bronze, silver, and gold, including the so-called 
" Treasure of Priam." Later excavations have proved that not the 
second city but the sixth city from the bottom was the one whose 
date, as determined by the relics found, corresponds to that of the 
Troy of the tradition. 

These discoveries have demonstrated that in prehistoric times there 
really was in the Troad a city which was the stronghold of a rich and 







11 OS- 




Fig. Si. Grave Circle at Mycenae. (/Vfter Tsonntas-Manait) 



powerful royal race, and they afford good ground for the belief that the 
story of the Trojan War, mixed of course with much mythical matter, 
embodies the memory of a real prehistoric conflict between the Greeks 
and the wealthy rulers of the Troy-land. We may reasonably believe 
that the basis of the power and riches of these rulers was the control 
which their strategic position at the entrance to the water passage to 
the Propontis and the Euxine gave them over the trade of those 
regions ^ — a trade the adventurous character of which is perhaps 
reflected in the embellished tale of the Argonauts (sect. 142). 

1 Troy in prehistoric times seems to have held the same relation to this northern 
trade that Byzantium, located at the northern entrance to the Bosphorus, held through- 
out the classical Greek period, and which Constantinople holds to-day. 

EN 



I30 



THE ^GEAN CIVILIZATION 



[§148 



148. Discoveries at Mycenae and Tiryns. Made confident by his 
wonderful discoveries at Hissarlik, and accepting as historically true 
those legends of the Greeks which represent Argolis as having in the 
earliest times nourished a race of powerful rulers, and Mycenae as 
having been the burial place of Agamemnon and his murdered com- 
panions (sect. 144), Dr. Schliemann began excavations at Mycenae in 
the year 1S76. He soon unearthed remains of an even more remark- 
able character than those on the supposed site of Troy. The most 
interesting of all the discoveries made on the spot were several tombs 





Fig. 82. Inlaid Sword Blades Found at Mycen^ 

The figures are inlaid on a separate bronze plate which is then set into the blade. The 

metals used are gold and electron, a natural alloy of gold and silver. Egyptian influence 

on this Mycenaean art is evident from the design on the upper blade — the cat chasing 

ducks along a river with lotus plants being a characteristically Eg}'ptian motive 

(Fig. 81) holding the remains of nineteen bodies, which were sur- 
rounded by an immense number of articles of gold, silver, and bronze 
— golden masks and breastplates, drinking cups of solid gold, bronze 
swords inlaid with gold and silver, and personal ornaments of every 
kind. There was one hundred pounds in weight of gold articles alone. 
Dr. Schliemann believed that he had actually found the tom.b and 
body of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks at Troy. This con- 
clusion of enthusiasm has not been accepted by archaeologists ; but all 
are agreed that the ancient legends, in so far as they represent Mycenae 
as having been in early pre-Dorian times the seat of an influential 
and wealthy royal race, rest on a basis of actual fact. In a word, 



§149] 



DISCOVERIES IN CRETE 



131 



Schliemann had found, ''not, indeed, the tomb of Agamemnon — but 
the tomb of that Homeric life which Agamemnon represents to us." 
In the years 1884-18S5 Dr. Schliemann made extensive excavations at 
Tiryns, where he laid bare the foundations of the walls of the ancient 
citadel and the ruins of an extensive palace like that at Mycenas. 

149. Discoveries in Crete. A quarter of a century after the first of 
these amazing discoveries in the Troad and in Argolis, Dr. Arthur J. 
Evans, guided by Greek legends, began excavations at Cnossus in 




Fig. 83. Great Magazines, or Storerooms, of the Palace at Cnossus 

The great terra-cotta jars were for the storing of oil and other provisions. The boxlike 

receptacles (of which there were a hundred or more) in the floor were probably for the 

safe-keeping of valuables 



the island of Crete. What the spade unearthed here was even more 
astonishing than what had been uncovered at Troy and Mycenas. 
The excavations laid bare the ruins of a prehistoric palace of great 
extent and magnificence, which had been at least once destroyed and 
rebuilt. There were evidences that the civilization represented by the 
remains had been brought to a sudden end by some great catastrophe. 
The last palace had evidently perished in a vast conflagration, after 
having been stripped of everything of value. Later excavations on 



132 



THE ^GEAN CIVILIZATION 



[§ 150 , 



other ancient sites in Crete brought to light additional memorials of 
a long-vanished civilization. 

150. Character of the Civilization. This island culture, as demon- 
strated by its remains, was in some respects not at all inferior to the 

contemporary civilizations of Egypt and 
Babylonia. The great palace at Cnossus 
rivaled in magnificence and extent the 
royal residences of the East. It con- 
tained numerous courts, halls, store- 
rooms, royal apartments, and rooms 
for the humbler folk (potters, stone- 
cutters, goldsmiths, and other artisans) 
attached to the royal household — all 
forming such a perfect maze as almost 
to force the conviction that here w^e 
look upon the remains of the veritable 
Labyrinth of Greek tradition. Frescoes 
of bull-grapplings in which athletes, 
both girls and boys, are depicted as 
seizing the bulls by the horns as they 
charge and leaping over their backs, 
and, again, as being gored and tossed 
by the furious beasts,^ suggest that 
these cruel sports — which recall the 
animal-baitings and gladiatorial games 
of the Romans -^ were the actual basis 
of the Greek tales of the Minotaur and 
the Athenian tribute of youths and 
maidens (sect. 140). 

In art work of various kinds the 
Cretan artists evinced surprising talent. 
Animal reliefs and paintings, particu- 
larly designs on pottery and on gold and silver cups, were character- 
ized by an astonishing vigor and naturalness. Probably we should 




Fig. 84. Fresco ok a Young 
Cup-bearer. (Cnossus) 

This splendid fresco was found on 
the palace walls at Cnossus. " The 
colors were almost as brilliant as 
when laid down over three thousand 
years ago. For the first time the 
true portraiture of a man of this 
mysterious Mycenaean [/Egean] 
race rises before us." — Evans 



1 Note detail of the scroll at the end of this chapter. This scroll is taken from one 
of the Vaphio cups (see Plate VIII and accompanying note). The goldsmith artist is 



§150] 



CHARACTER OF THE CIVILIZATION 



133 




'%. 






not be wrong in thinking that the picturesque tales of the artist 
Daedalus (sect. 141), which were current among the Greeks of the 
earliest historical times, had for their nucleus of fact the supreme 
excellence of the work of a school of Cretan art which gave the 
first impulse to the early art of classical Greece. 

The numerous representations in the wall-paintings and on vases 
of ships with both sails and oars confirm the tradition of the nautical 
interest and maritime ac- 
tivity of the Cretan kings, .,--"" J|, "'■■••-.., 
which is further confirmed 
by the vases and other 
objects of Cretan make 
found in the tombs of 
almost every ancient people 
of the Mediterranean 
lands. Special confirma- 
tion of the statements of 
the Greek historians re- 
specting the sea-power of 
the kings of Crete is found 
in the fact that their capi- 
tal city, Cnossus, was un- 
walled, which goes to show 
that they relied for security 
on their mastery of the sea. 

One of the most interesting features of the ruins at Cnossus is the 
so-called " Theatral Area," a paved space with tiers of seats on two 
sides for spectators. Some have thought to identify this structure 
with the " dancing-floor " which Daedalus made for the princess 
Ariadne (sect. 141). With less hesitation we may regard the struc- 
ture as the prototype of the classical Greek theater.'^ 

An important element in the Minoan civilization was a system of 
writing, which was developed independently out of a local picture 
writing, though possibly under Egyptian influence. Thousands of 

here evidently portraying the same grisly athletic games as are depicted on the 
Cnossian frescoes. 

1 C. H. and H. B. Hawes, Crete, the Forerunner of Greece (191 1), p. 85. 






Fig. 85. A Cnossian Seal Impression 

Possibly a record, as Dr. Evans suggests, of the 
importation of the horse from Egypt into Crete. 
It is noteworthy that this appearance of the horse 
in the records of Cnossus is synchronous with its 
appearance on the monuments of Egypt at the begin- 
ning of the Eighteenth Dynasty (see above, p. 29) 



134 



THE ^GEAN CIVILIZATION 



[§151 



clay tablets similar to the Babylonian have been found, not a word of 
which, however, can yet be read. Doubtless they hold an interesting 

chapter of the early 
history of the ^gean 
world. 

151. Origin and De- 
velopment of Mgean 
Civilization. Until the 
key is found to the 
writing on the Cretan 
tablets we must rely 
almost wholly upon the 
science of archaeology 
for our knowledge of 
the origin and develop- 
ment of this newly 
discovered civilization. 
The broad lines of this 
evolution from the 




Fig. 86. Theater and " Dancing-place" (?) 
Excavated at Cnossus by Dr. Evans 

" Also did the glorious lame god devise a dancing-place 

like unto that which once in wide Knosos Daidalos 

wrought for Ariadne of the lovely tresses." — I/ind 

(tr. Lang and others), xviii, 590-592 



Stone Age up to the beginning of classical Greek history in the eighth 
century B.C., as revealed by the architectural remains and cultural 
objects recovered largely from the soil of Crete, are these : The 
^gean islands and coast lands were the arena on which developed 
the very earliest civilization on European soil. This civilization was 




Fig. 87. Cretan Linear Tablet with Chariot and Horse 

One of a number of clay labels found by Dr. Evans in the so-called " Room of Chariot 
Tablets " in the great magazine (Fig. 83) of the palace at Cnossus 

in the main an independent development, tho.ugh it plainly was deeply 
influenced by the civilizations of the Nile-land and Mesopotamia. 
The earliest home and the radiating point of this culture was the 
island of Crete. Its creators and bearers were a non-Greek race 



§151] 



ORIGIN OF ^GEAN CIVILIZATION 



135 



of brunette type. It was chiefly a Bronze Age civilization, which, like 
that of Egypt, grew directly out of an earlier Neolithic culture, the 
beginnings of which are lost in the depths of prehistoric times.^ The 
metal development began as early at least as 3000 B.C., and was at its 
height in the island of Crete about 1600 or 1500 B.C. At this period 
the kings of Cnossus were maintaining a naval supremacy and a 
political dominion which embraced seemingly many of the ^gean 
islands, and even parts 
of the mainland of Greece. 
Articles of Cretan handi- 
work found in Egypt 
point to intercourse with 
that country as early 
at least as the Sixth 
Dynasty (about 2500 
B.C.). The memory of 
this maritime activity 
and dominion lived on 
into historic times and 
was embodied in the 
Greek legends of the 
sea power of Minos. 

Troy, Mycenas, and 
Tiryns were colonies or 
outposts of the mother 
cities of Crete, or were 
centers of culture which 
developed under Cretan 
influence. The golden 
age of these mainland fortress cities was from about 1500 to i loO b.c.^ 

1 There are no traces in the island of a Paleolithic stage of culture. 

2 To this civilization the term MyceiKBan was at first applied, since Mycenae seemed 
to be its radiating point ; but when the discoveries in Crete showed that island to have 
been its earliest home, then the name Minoan^ from Minos, was suggested. Recently the 
term ^gean has come into very general use. Sir Arthur Evans, however, uses the term 
Minoan instead of Aegean, and divides the whole age (about 3000-1200 n.c.) into three 
periods, which he names Early Minoan, Middle Minoan, and Late Minoan. Each of 
these periods he again subdivides into three epochs. 




Fig. 



The So-called " Throne of Minos " 



Excavated by Dr. Evans in the palace at Cnossus. 

It is the most ancient throne in Europe. It is carved 

from alabaster-like stone 



136 THE ^GEAN CIVILIZATION [§152 

152. Relation of the ^gean to Classical Greek Culture. The gener- 
ally accepted view respecting the relation of this hitherto unsuspected 
civilization to the classical culture of Greece may be briefly stated 
as follows: Not later than 2000 B.C. the ancestors of various Greek 
tribes, a branch of the great Indo-European peoples, began to move 
southward from the northern Balkan regions and to press into the 
Greek peninsula. Chief and first among these intruders were the 
Achasans. Mingling with the original inhabitants, these newcomers 
imparted to them their own speech, in a word, Hellenized them, and 
eventually superseding the native princes ruled in their stead in the 
great palace fortresses at Mycenae, Tiryns, and elsewhere. Through 
the intermingling of the two races arose the brilliant " Achaean " civi- 
lization (about 1 5 00-1100 B.C.), the glories of which were sung by 
the Homeric bards. 

Then, probably as early as the thirteenth or twelfth century B.C., 
the Achaeans, together with lonians and other Greek folk who by this 
time had drifted into Greece from the north, began to migrate from 
the western to the eastern shore of the ^gean. Achaeans and 
^olians from Thessaly settled the island of Lesbos and the north- 
western shore of Asia Minor, the latter folk giving name to the 
district — yHolis. The coast south of these settlements — the Ionia 
of the historic period — was settled by lonians from Attica and 
Argolis. In the blood of all these emigrants there was doubtless 
a deep strain of the native ^gean population of Greece. It was 
probably this prehistoric colonization movement which brought on 
the memorable struggle between the Greeks and the rulers of the 
Troy-land (sect. 143). 

Soon after the destruction of Troy by the Achaeans and their 
allies there came into Greece from the north another wave of in- 
vasion (about 1 1 00 or 1000 B.C.), which spent its force in the 
Peloponnesus.^ These new intruders were chiefly Dorians, an iron- 
using folk. They were less cultured than their Achaean kinsmen, and 
apparently destroyed utterly the strongholds of the Achaean princes. 
This Dorian invasion appears to have given a fresh impulse to the 

1 A dim memory of this invasion and conquest is doubtless embodied in the legend 
of the Return of the Heraclidae (sect. 145). 



§ 152] RELATION OF ^EGEAN TO GREEK CULTURE 137 

migration movement from peninsular Greece to the eastern shores of 
the ^gean. Hard pressed or dispossessed peoples, pushing across 
the waters, found new homes among their kinsmen already established 
in ^olis and Ionia. The Dorians, having conquered and colonized 
Crete and Rhodes, formed new settlements all along the southwestern 
shores of Asia Minor, creating the Doris of history. 

On the Asian shores, in Ionia and yEolis and upon the neighboring 
isles, the fires of culture on new altars burned afresh. The torch of 
culture lighted two thousand years before in Crete was here held 
aloft. In continental Greece, however, the light of civilization was 
almost extinguished. The Dorian conquest had ushered in here 
those " Dark Ages " which cover the three centuries and more 
lying between the bright Achaean Age and the opening of the 
truly historic age of Hellas. 

As the golden Ach^an Age had its poet in Homer, so did these 
"Dark Ages" have their poet in Hesiod, — the first great Greek 
poet of flesh and blood, — the spokesman of the common folk in 
this evil age of iron.^ Yet it was in this dark period of which 
Hesiod is the representative that, through the fusion and inter- 
mingling of races and cultures, the Greece of history was born. 
There is a striking and instructive parallel between these " Dark 
Ages " of Greek story and the " Dark Ages " of later European 
history. For just as in this later period two races, the Latin and 
the 1 euton, and two cultures, the refined civilization of Rome and 
the ruder culture of the Teutonic tribes, mingled to form modern 
Europe, so in the early history of the ^gean lands two races, the 
^gean and the Hellenic, and two cultures, the advanced ^Egean 
civilization and the primitive culture of the Greek tribes, mingled 
to form the brilliant civilization of classical Hellas. Thus " the 
Golden Age of Crete was the forerunner of the Golden Age of 
Greece, and hence of all our western culture." '^ 

1 See sect. 337. 

2 C. H. and II. B. Hawes, Crete, the Forcmnner of Greece (191 1), p. 2. The discovery 
of the long-lost /Egean civilization has given new significance not only to several of 
the Greek legends narrated in the preceding chapter, but also to an alleged Egyptian 
tradition of "the lost Atlantis" — a tale preserved in the Timceus and the Critias of 
Plato. The essential part of Plato's narrative runs as follows : " The Athenian Solon 



138 THE ^GEAN CIVILIZATION 

References. Schliemann, 7>^y and its Remains (1875); J^Iycena {!%•]%) \ 
Ilios (1881) ; T7vja (1884) ; and Titytis (1885). For an admirable summary of 
all these works of Dr. Schliemann's and a scholarly estimate of the histori- 
cal import of his discoveries, see Schuchhardt, Schliemann'' s Excavations. 
DiEHL, Exctirsions in Greece (an account of the results of excavations at 
Mycenae, Tiryns, and on other sites in Greece). Gardner, A^e^v Chapters in 
Greek History, chaps, i-v (compares the Greek legends with recent archaeo- 
logical discoveries and discusses the question whether or not these dis- 
coveries may be regarded as a verification in any degree of the legends). 

(sect. 200) returning from a visit to Egypt brought back a tale of a lost island-empire, 
a tale so wonderful that if Solon had made poetry the business of his life and had com- 
pleted the story he would have been as famous as Homer or Hesiod. This old-world 
story was told to Solon in the city of Sais in the Egyptian Delta. Solon had asked the 
priests something about antiquity, and made the discovery that neither he nor any other 
Hellene knew anything worth mentioning about ancient times. For when he tried to 
impress the priests by talking about ancient things, one of them exclaimed, ' O Solon, 
you Hellenes are nothing but children,' and then related the following story : ' There 
was an island called Atlantis situated in front of the Pillars of Hercules. The island 
was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands and to 
a continent beyond. Now in this island there was a great and wonderful empire which 
had rule over the whole island, and several others and over parts of the continent. And 
these men of Atlantis had harbors and docks which were full of triremes and stores of 
every kind. The kings possessed a fleet of 1200 ships, and the royal palace which they 
built in the center of the island was ornamented by successive generations until it be- 
came a marvel to behold for size and beauty. And there were bulls which the kings 
hunted without weapons but with staves and nooses. This vast power had subjected all 
the parts of Libya within the Pillars of Hercules as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far 
as Tyrrhenia, and then it endeavored to subdue at a blow our country and yours, and 
the whole of the region within the straits ; and then, Solon, your country shone forth. 
She preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liber- 
ated all the rest of us. But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods, 
and the island of Atlantis disappeared in the depths of the sea.' " 

This story of the lost Atlantis has been variously interpreted. It has been pro- 
nounced by some a pure creation of Plato's imagination, while others have seen in it 
a confused memory of a real past. As we have said, the recent discoveries in Crete 
give the narrative a new significance. The nucleus of the story may very well have 
been the Egyptian recollection, much distorted of course, of the great empire of the 
kings of Cnossus. James Baikie (The Sea-kings of Crete (1913), p. 258) says: "The 
only difficulty in accepting the identification [of Plato's Atlantis with the island of 
Crete] is that it is stated that the lost Atlantis lay beyond the Pillars of Hercules; but 
doubtless this statement is due to Solon's misinterpretation of what was said by his 
Egyptian informant, or to the Saite priest's endeavor to accommodate his ancient tradi- 
tion to the wider geographical knowledge of his own time. . . . Almost certainly, then, 
Plato's story gives the Saite version of the actual Egyptian records of the greatness 
and the final disaster of the great island state with which Egypt so long maintained 
intercourse. Doubtless to the men of the latter part of the Eighteenth Dynasty the 
sudden blotting out of Minoan trade and influence by the overthrow of Cnossus seemed 
as strange and mysterious as though Crete had actually been swallowed up by the sea." 




I'LATE VIII. The Vaphio Curs and their Scrules. (Cups from 
photographs ; the scrolls drawn from facsimiles of the cups) 

Found in a tomb at Vaphio, near Sparta, in 1S89. "The finest product of the 

goldsmith's art left to our wonderin-r eyes by the Achaean civilization of Greece." — 

Ruf'is !'). Richardson 



REFERENCES 



139 



TSOUNTAS and Manatt, The MycencEan Age. Hall, The Oldest Civilization 
of Greece. Ridgeway, The Early Age of Greece, 2 vols. All the works thus 
far cited were written before the chief discoveries in the island of Crete, and 
the opinions and conclusions of their authors must be tested and corrected 
by the revelations made since the opening of the present century by the 
excavations at Cnossus and elsewhere. The following mofe recent works 
summarize and interpret the new discoveries : Hall, ALgean Archceology ; 
Mosso, The Palaces of Crete; Baikie, The Sea-kings of Crete; Fowler and 
Wheeler, Greek Archeology, chap. i. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Summary of the excavations: Hall, Aigean 
Archceology, chap. ii. 2. The palace at Cnossus : Mosso, The Palaces of 
Crete, chaps, iv, v. 3. Bull-grappling : Mosso, The Palaces of Crete, chap. xi. 
4. yEgean art : Mosso, The Palaces of Crete, chap, xiii ; Hall, Aigeati Archce- 
ology, chap, vii; Reinach, Apollo (rev. ed.), pp. 30-36; Fowler and Wheeler, 
Greek Archceology, chap. i. 5. Early intercourse between Crete and Egypt: 
Baikie, The Sea-kings of Crete, chap. vii. 6. A day in Troy : Manatt, ALgean 
Days, chap. xxiv. 




...:J 




CHAPTER XIV 
THE HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS 

153. A Rich and Mixed Heritage. The Greeks when they appeared 
in history, in the eighth century B.C., were the bearers of an already 
advanced culture. They possessed well-developed political and reli- 
gious institutions, a wonderfully copious language, a rich and varied 
mythology, an unrivaled epic literature, and an art which, though 
immature, was yet full of promise. 

This was indeed a rich heritage. We now know that it was a 
mixed inheritance. It was in part a transmission from their own 
foretime, and in part a legacy from that earlier ^gean civilization 
depicted in the preceding chapter. There were mingled in it also 
elements derived directly from oriental cultures. But all these non- 
Hellenic racial and cultural contributions had before historic times 
received the deep impress of the Hellenic spirit. This will become 
evident as we now proceed to examine somewhat in detail this 
heritage of the historic Hellenes, and note how different a product 
it is from anything we have found before. We shall be convinced 
that the chief factor, after all, in the wonderful thing we call Greek 
civilization was the Greek genius itself — a genius bom of the union 
of two gifted races. 

I. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

154. The City-State; its Elements — the Clan, the Phratry, and 
the Tribe. The light that falls upon Greece in the eighth and seventh 
centuries B.C. shows most of Greece proper, the shore-lands of Asia 
Minor, and many of the ^gean islands filled with cities. Respecting 

140 



§154] THE CITY-STATE; ITS ELEMENTS I41 

the nature of these cities we must say a word, for it is with them — 
with cities — that Greek history has to do. 

In the first place, each of these cities was an independent com- 
munity, like a modern nation. It was a city-state. It made war and 
peace and held diplomatic relations with its neighbors. Its citizens 
were aliens in every other city. 

In the second place, these city-states were, as we think of inde- 
pendent states, very small.^ So far as we know, no city in Greece 
proper, save Athens, ever had over twenty thousand arm-bearing 
citizens. In most cases each consisted of nothing more than a single 
walled town with a little encircling zone of farming and pasture land. 
Sometimes, however, the city-state embraced, besides the central 
town, a large number of smaller places. Thus the city-state of 
Athens, in historic times, included all Attica with its hundred or 
more villages and settlements. In most other cases, however, the 
outlying villages, if any, were so close to the walled town that all 
their inhabitants, in the event of a sudden raid by enemies, could get 
to the city gates in one or two hours at most. 

In the third place, each of these early cities was made up of 
groups — clans,'^ phratries or brotherhoods (groups of closely united 
families), and tribes — which were a survival from the tribal age of 
the Greeks, the age before they began to live in cities. It was at first 
only members of these giroups who enjoyed the rights of citizenship.^ 

1 There is a limit, Aristotle argued, to the size of a city as there is to the size of a plant, 
an animal, or a ship. It should be large enough, he maintained, to be self-sufficing, and 
yet not too large to be well governed. In order that the government might be good he 
thought that the city should be small enough to enable each citizen to know all his 
fellow-citizens. 

2 The clan was simply the expanded family ; for in primitive society the family as it 
expands holds together, being united by the worship of ancestors or of domestic divini- 
ties, whereas in advanced society as it expands it disintegrates, the several households 
no longer living together, but each usually going its own way. This forms a fundamental 
difference between primitive and modem society. 

3 It was only after a long lapse of time that the ties which bound together these 
primitive groups became relaxed, largely through a change in the religious beliefs of 
men, and that the way was thus paved for the entrance of strangers into the city. This 
great revolution, the greatest that ever took place in the society of antiquity, was already 
in progress, both in Italy and in Greece, at the opening of the historical period, and 
resulted finally in making property and residence instead of birth and worship the 
basis of civil and political rights and privileges. (See below, p. 184, n. i.) 



142 HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§155 

In the beginning, that is, in the Achaean or Homeric Age, these 
cities were ruled by hereditary kings. But because these Greek cities 
were at first city-kingdoms, we must not think that they were like the 
early city-kingdoms we found in Babylonia and other lands of the 
Orient. In the oriental city the power of the priest-king was abso- 
lute ; the people were his servile subjects. In the Greek city the 
authority of the king was limited ; the people were, in some measure 
at least, selfgoverned. In a word, the Greek city contained the 
germs of a political constitution. It was a vital organism with powers 
of growth. Into what it grew we shall see as we follow particularly 
the history of the typical Greek city of Athens. 

155. The Influence of the City upon Greek History. We cannot 
understand Greek history unless we get at the outset a clear idea of 
the feelings of a Greek towards the city of which he was a member. 
It was the body in which he lived, moved, and had his being. It was 
his country, his fatherland, for which he lived and for which he died. 
Exile from his native city was to him a fate scarcely less dreaded 
than death. This devotion of the Greek to his city was the sentiment 
which corresponds to patriotism amongst us, but, being a narrower 
as well as a religious feeling, it was much more intense. 

It was this strong city feeling among the Greeks which prevented 
them from ever uniting to form a single nation. The history of 
Greece from first to last is, in general, the history of a great number 
of independent cities wearing one another out with their never-ending 
disputes and wars arising from a thousand and one petty causes of 
rivalry, jealousy, and hatred. It is the history of modern Europe 
in miniature. 

But it was this very thing that made life in the Greek cities so 
intense and strenuous, and that developed so wonderfully the facul- 
ties of the Greek citizen. In the eager atmosphere of the agora 
human talents were fostered as plants are forced in the growing air 
of a conservatory. Hence there arose in the Hellenic cities a rich 
and many-sided culture (within their walls art and literature and phi- 
losophy developed forms and systems of supreme excellence), which 
became the precious legacy of Greece to the world at large. In a 
word, Greek civilization was the flower and fruitage of the city-state. 



§156] 



COSMOGRAPHY OF THE GREEKS 



143 



II. RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND INSTITUTIONS 

156. Ideas of the Greeks regarding the System of the Universe. 

Forming another important element of the inheritance of the historic 
Greeks were their religious ideas and institutions. In speaking of 
these we shall begin with a word respecting their ideas in regard to 
the system of the universe. 

The early Greeks supposed the earth to be, as it appears, a plane, 
oval or circular in form like a shield. Around it flowed the " mighty 
strength of the 



ocean river, a 
stream broad and 
deep, on the fur- 
ther side of which 
lay realms of 
Cimmerian dark- 
ness and terror. 
The heavens were 
a solid vault, or 
dome, the edge of 
which shut down 
close upon the 
earth. Beneath 
the earth, reached 
by subterranean 
passages, was the 
realm of Hades, 
a vast region, the 

place of departed souls.-^ Still beneath this was the prison Tartarus, 
a pit deep and dark, made fast by strong gates of brass and iron. 

The sun was an archer god, borne in a fiery chariot up and down 
the steep pathway of the skies. Naturally it was imagined that the 
regions in the extreme east and west, which were bathed in the 
near splendors of the sunrise and the sunset, were lands of delight 




The World according to Homer 



1 Erebus, in the Homeric mythology, was a gloomy intermediate region between the 
earth and Hades. 



144 HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§157 




and plenty. The eastern region was the favored country of the Ethio- 
pians, a land which even Zeus himself so loved to visit that often 
he was found absent from Olympus when sought by suppliants. In 
the western region, adjoining the ocean stream, were the Isles of the 
Blest (Elysium), the abodes of the shades of heroes and poets. 

157. The Olympian Council. At the head of the Greek pantheon 
there was a council of twelve members, comprising six gods and as 
many goddesses. The male deities usually included were Zeus, the 
father of gods and men ; Poseidon, ruler of the sea ; Apollo, the god 
of light, of music, and of prophecy ; Ares, the god of war ; Hephaestus, 

the deformed god of 
fire, and the forger 
of the thunderbolts of 
Zeus ; and Hermes, 
the wind-god, the 
swift-footed herald 
of the celestials, the 
inventor of the pipe 
and the lyre — "for 
the wind whistles and 
sings." 

The female divini- 
ties were Hera, the 
proud and jealous 
queen of Zeus ; Athena, or Pallas, — who sprang full-grown from 
the forehead of Zeus, — the goddess of wisdom and the patroness 
of the domestic arts ; Artemis, the goddess of the chase ; Aphro- 
dite, the goddess of love and. beauty, bom of the white sea foam ; 
Hestia, the goddess of the hearth ; and Demeter,^ the earth-mother^ 
the goddess of grains and harvests.'^ 

1 The cult or worship of Demeter and Persephone was connected with the Eleu- 
sinian mysteries celebrated at Eleusis in Attica. These secrets were so carefully 
guarded that to this day it is not known what they really were. It seems, however, 
that the hopeful doctrine of a future life more real and satisfying than that repre- 
sented by the popular religion was taught, or at least suggested, by the symbolism of 
the mysteries, and that the initiated were helped thereby to live better and happier lives. 

2 Besides the great gods and goddesses that constituted the Olympian Council, there 
was an almost infinite number of other deities, celestial personages, and monsters neither 



Fig. 89. Group of Gods and Goddesses. (From 
the frieze of the Parthenon) 

" The chief gods, in striking contrast with the monstrous 

divinities of the oriental mythologies, had been molded 

by the fine Hellenic imagination into human forms of 

surpassing beauty and grace " 



§158] 



THE DELPHIC ORACLE 



J45 



These great deities were simply magnified human beings. They 
give way to fits of anger and jealousy. All the celestial council, at 
the sight of Hephaestus limping across the palace floor, burst into 
" inextinguishable laughter " ; and Aphrodite, weeping, moves all to 
tears. They surpass mortals rather in power than in size of body. 
They can render themselves visible or invisible to human eyes. 
Their food is am- 
brosia and nectar; 
their movements 
are swift as light. 
They may suffer 
pain ; but death 
can never come to 
them, for they are 
immortal. Their 
abode is Mount 
Olympus and the 
airy regions above 
the earth. 

158. The Delphic 
Oracle and its In- 
fluence on Greek 
Life and History. 
The most precious 

part, perhaps, of the religious heritage of the historic Greeks from 
the misty Hellenic foretime was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. 

The Greeks believed that in the early ages the gods were wont to 
visit the earth and mingle with men. But even in Homer's time this 




innimiiiuuiiiuiiHounnn 



Fig. 90. The Carrying off of Persephone by 
Hades to the Underworld; her Leave-taking 
of her Mother Demeter. (After a vase painting) 

In accordance with the animistic ideas of primitive man, 
the souls of plants were thought to descend to the under- 
world in the winter and to return to the upper world in the 
spring. Out of this conception grew the beautiful myth of 
Demeter and Persephone, who as goddesses of the corn 
came to be personifications of the yearly death and revival 
of vegetation, and then by analogy as symbols (in the Eleu- 
sinian mysteries) of man's renewed life after death 



human nor divine. Hades ruled over the lower realms ; Dionysus was the god of wine ; 
Eros, of love ; Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, and the special messenger of Zeus ; 
Hebe (goddess) was the cupbearer of the celestials ; the goddess Nemesis was the 
punisher of crime, and particularly the queller of the proud and arrogant ; /Eolus was 
the ruler of the winds, which he confined in a cave secured by mighty gates. There 
were nine Muses, inspirers of art and song. The Nymphs were beautiful maidens, who 
peopled the woods, the fields, the rivers, the lakes, and the ocean. Three Fates allotted 
life and death, and three Furies (Eumenides, or Erinyes) avenged crime, especially 
murder and sacrilegious crimes. Besides these there were the Centaurs, the Cyclopes, 
the Harpies, the Gorgons, and a thousand others. 

EN 



146 



HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§158 



familiar intercourse was a thing of the past — a tradition of a golden 
age that had passed away. In historic times, though the gods often 
revealed their will and intentions through signs and portents, still 
they granted a more special communication of counsel through what 
were known as oracles. These communications, it was believed, were 
made sometimes by Zeus,^ but more commonly by Apollo. Not 
everywhere, but only in chosen places, did these gods manifest 
their presence and communicate the divine will. These favored spots 

were called oracles, as were also the 
responses there received. 

The most renowned of the Greek 
oracles, as we have intimated, was 
that at Delphi, in Phocis. Here, from 
a deep fissure in the rocks, arose 
stupefying vapors, which were thought 
to be the inspiring breath of Apollo. 
Over this spot was erected a temple 
in honor of the Revealer. The com- 
munication was generally received by 
the Pythia, or priestess, seated upon 
a tripod placed above the orifice. As 
she became overpowered by the va- 
pors, she uttered the message of the 
god. These mutterings of the Pythia 
were taken down by attendant priests 
and put in verse. Sometimes the divine will was communicated to 
the pious seeker by dreams and visions granted him while sleeping 
in the temple of the oracle. 

Some of the responses of the oracle contained plain and wholesome 
advice ; but many of them, particularly those that implied a knowledge 
of the future, were made obscure and given a double meaning, so that 
they would correspond with the event however affairs might turn.'^ 

^ The oracle of Zeus of widest repute was that at Dodona, in Epirus, where the priests 
listened for the voice of the god in the rustling leaves of the sacred oak. 

2 Thus Croesus at the time he made war on Cyrus (sect. 102) was told in response 
to his inquiry that if he undertook the war he would destroy a great empire. He did, 
indeed, — but the empire was his own. 




Fig. 91. Apollo 



§159] 



THE OLYMPIC GAMES 



147 



The oracle of Delphi gained a celebrity wide as the world ; it was 
often consulted by the monarchs of Asia and the people of Rome in 
times of extreme danger and perplexity. Among the Greeks scarcely 
any undertaking was entered upon without the will and sanction of 
the oracle being first sought. 

Especially true was this in the founding of colonies. Apollo was 
believed " to take delight in the founding of new cities." No colony, 
it was believed, could prosper that had not been established with the 
sanction or under the superintendence of the Delphic god.-' 

The Delphian oracle, furthermore, exerted a profound influence 
upon Hellenic unity. Delphi was, in some respects, such a religious 
center of Hellas as papal Rome was of mediaeval Europe. It was the 
common altar of the Greek race. By thus providing a worship open 
to all, Delphi drew 
together by bonds 
of religious senti- 
ment and fraternity 
the numberless com- 
munities of Greece, 
and created, if not a 
political, at least a 
religious, union that 
embraced the entire 
Hellenic world.^ 

159. The Olympic Games. Another of the most characteristic 
of the religious institutions of the Greeks which they inherited from 
prehistoric times was the sacred games celebrated at Olympia in Elis, 
in honor of the Olympian Zeus. The origin of this festival is lost in 
the obscurity of tradition ; but by the opening of the eighth century 
B.C. it had assumed national importance. In 776 B.C. a contestant 
named Coroebus was victor in the foot race at Olympia, and as from 
that time the names of the victors were carefully registered, that 

1 The managers of the oracle, doubtless through the visitors to the shrine, kept them- 
selves informed respecting the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, and thus were 
able to give good advice to those contemplating the founding of a new settlement. 

2 For an illustration of the influence of the oracle upon Greek morality, read the 
story of Glaucus (Herodotus, vi, 86). 




Fig. 92. Greek Runners 



148 HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§ 160 

year came to be used by the Greeks as the starting point in their 
chronology. The games were held every fourth year, and the interval 
between two successive festivals was known as an Olympiad.^ 

To the foot-race, which at first was the only contest, were gradually 
added boxing, wrestling, spear-throwing, and other athletic games. 
Later, chariot-racing was introduced, and became the most popular 
of all the contests. The competitors must be of Hellenic race ; must 
have undergone special training in the gymnasium ; and must, more- 
over, be unblemished by any crime against the state or sin against the 
gods. Spectators from all parts of the world crowded to the festival. 




Fig. 93. Racing with Four-horse Chariots. (From a vase painting of 
the fifth century B.C.) 

The victor was crowned with a garland of sacred olive ; heralds 
proclaimed his name abroad ; his native city received him as a con- 
queror, sometimes through a breach made in the city walls ; statues 
of him, executed by eminent artists, were erected at Olympia and in 
his own city ; sometimes even divine honor and worship were accorded 
to him ; and poets and orators vied with the artist in perpetuating 
his name and triumphs as the name and triumphs of one who had 
reflected immortal honor upon his native state. 

160. The Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian Games. Besides 
the Olympic games there were transmitted from prehistoric times 
the germs at least of three other national festivals. These were the 
Pythian, held in honor of Apollo, near his shrine and oracle at Del- 
phi ; the Nemean, celebrated in honor of Zeus, at Nemea, in Argolis ; 
and the Isthmian, observed in honor of Poseidon, on the Isthmus of 
Corinth. Just when these festivals had their beginnings it is impos- 
sible to say, but by the time the historic period had fairly opened, 

1 The date of an occurrence was given by saying that it happened in the first, second, 
third, or fourth year of the first, second, or third, etc. Olympiad. This mode of designat- 
ing dates, however, did not come into general use in Greece before the third century b. c. 



§161] INFLUENCE OF THE GRECIAN GAMES 149 

that is to say, by the sixth century B.C., they had lost their local and 
assumed a national character, and were henceforth to be prominent 
features of the common life of the Greek cities. As the gods were 
believed to take delight in these exhibitions of strength and skill, the 
presentation of them was a religious duty — a Greek mode of worship. 

161. Influence of the Grecian Games. For more than a thousand 
years these national festivals, particularly those celebrated at Olympia, 
exerted an immense influence upon the social, religious, and literary 
life of Hellas. They enkindled among the widely scattered Hellenic 
states and colonies a common literary taste and enthusiasm ; for into 
all the four great festivals, save the Olympic, were introduced, sooner 
or later, contests in poetry, oratory, and history. During the festi- 
vals, poets and historians read their choicest productions, and artists 
exhibited their masterpieces. The extraordinary honors accorded to 
the victors stimulated the contestants to the utmost, and strung to the 
highest tension every power of body and mind. 

Particularly were the games promotive of sculpture, since they" 
afforded the sculptor living models for his art (sect. 324). " Without 
the Olympic games," says Holm, " we should never have had Greek 
sculpture." 

Moreover, they promoted intercourse and trade ; for the festivals 
naturally became great centers of traffic and exchange during the 
progress of the games. They softened, too, the manners of the peo- 
ple, turning their thoughts from martial exploits and giving the states 
respite from w'ar ; for during the season in which the religious games 
were held it was sacrilegious to engage in military expeditions. 

They tended also to keep alive common Hellenic feelings and sen- 
timents. In all these ways, though they never drew the states into a 
real political union, still they did impress a common character upon 
their social, intellectual, and religious life.^ 

162. The Amphictyonic Council. Closely connected with the reli- 
gious festivals were the so-called Amphictyonies, or " leagues of 
neighbors," which formed another important part of the bequest 

1 By the third century B.C. the games had degenerated and lost much of their origi- 
nal religious character. The Olympic games, having been suspended since the fourth 
century of our era, were revived, with an international character, in 1S96, at Athens. 



I50 HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§163 

from the legendary age to historic Greece. These were associations 
of a number of cities or tribes for the celebration of religious rites 
at sohie shrine, or for the protection of some particular temple. 

Preeminent among such unions was that known as the Delphic 
Amphictyony, or simply The Amphictyony. This was a league of 
twelve of the subtribes of Hellas, whose main object was the protec- 
tion of the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Another of its purposes was, 
by humane regulations, to mitigate the cruelties of war. The follow- 
ing oath was taken by the members of the league : " We will not 
destroy any Amphictyonic town, nor cut it off from running water, 
in war or in peace ; if any one shall do so, we will march against him 
and destroy his city." This was one of the first steps taken in the 
practice of international law. 

The Amphictyons waged in behalf of the Delphic god Apollo a 
number of crusades, or sacred wars. The first of these occurred at 
the opening of the sixth century B.C. (probably about 595-586), and 
was carried on against the Phocian towns of Crissa and Cirrha,^ 
whose inhabitants had been guilty of annoying the pilgrims on their 
way to the shrine. The cities were finally taken and leveled to the 
ground. Their territory was also consecrated to the gods, which 
meant that it was never thereafter to be ploughed or planted, or 
in any way devoted to secular use. 

163. Doctrine of Divine Jealousy. Several religious or semi- 
religious ideas, which were a bequest to the historic Greeks from 
primitive times, colored so deeply all their conceptions of life, and 
supplied them so often with motives of action, that we must not fail 
to take notice of them here. Two of these ideas related to the 
envious disposition of the gods and the nature of the life in the 
hereafter. 

The Greeks were impressed, as all peoples and generations have 
been, with the mutations of fortune and the vicissitudes of human 
life. Their observation and experience had taught them that long- 
continued good fortune and unusual prosperity often issue at last 
in sudden and overwhelming calamity. They attributed this to the 
jealousy of the gods, who, they imagined, were envious of mortals 

1 Cirrha was the seaport of Crissa. 



§ 164] IDEAS OF THE FUTURE 1 5 1 

that through such prosperity seemed to have become too much like 
themselves. Thus the Greeks believed the downfall of Croesus, after 
his extraordinary course of uninterrupted prosperity, to have been 
brought about by the envy of the celestials, and they colored the 
story to bear out this version of the matter. 

Later, as the moral feelings of the Greeks became truer, they put 
a different interpretation upon the facts. They said that the downfall 
of the great was due not to the ejivy of the gods, but to their right- 
eous indignation, aroused by the insolence and presumptuous pride 
engendered by overgreat prosperity. 

164. Ideas of the Future. To the Greeks life here on earth was 
so bright and joyous a thing that they looked upon death as a great 
calamity. Moreover, they pictured life after death, except in the 
case of a favored few, as being hopeless and aimless.^ The Elysian 
Fields, away in the land of sunset, were, indeed, filled with every 
delight; but these were the abode only of the great heroes and 
benefactors of the race. The great mass of mankind were doomed 
to Hades, where the spirit existed as " a feeble, joyless phantom." "^ 
So long as the body remained unburied, the shade wandered without 
rest ; hence the sacredness of the rites of sepulture. 

III. LANGUAGE, MYTHOLOGY, LITERATURE, AND ART 

165. The Greek Language. One of the most wonderful things 
which the Greeks brought out of their dim foretime was their lan- 
guage. At the beginning of the historic period their language was 
already one of the richest and most perfectly elaborated languages 
ever spoken by human lips. Through what number of centuries this 
language was taking form upon the lips of the forefathers of the his- 
toric Greeks, we can only vaguely imagine. It certainly bears testimony 
to a long period of Hellenic life lying behind the historic age in Hellas. 

1 Homer makes the shade of the great Achilles in Hades to say: 

" I would be 
A laborer on earth and serve for hire 
Some man of mean estate, who makes scant cheer, 
Rather than reign o'er all who have gone down 
To death." — Odyssey, xi, 489-490 (Bryant's trans.) 

2 Cf. sects. 56, 89. 



152 



HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC GREEKS [§ 166 



166. The Mythology of the Greeks. Another wonderful posses- 
sion of the Greeks when they first appeared in history was their 
mythology. All races in the earlier stages of their development are 
myth-makers, but no race has ever created such a rich and beauti- 
ful mythology as did the ancient Greeks, and this for the reason 
that no other race was ever endowed with so fertile and lively 
an imagination. 

This mythology exercised a ' great influence upon the life and 
thought of the ancient Greeks. Their religion, their poetry, their 




aiiiliniJIIIr lilUIIMIm.. .nilllllli I iilllilUiililllllliPiliilllllilWiii mawlitflli 



iiiiiiiniiiiiiiHiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiinh 



Fig. 94. Battle between Greeks and Amazons. (From a sarcophagus 
of about 300 B.C.) 

The whole mythology was pictured on vases or carved in marble 



art, and their history were one and all deeply impressed by this 
wonderful collection of legends and myths. Some of these stories 
inspired religious feeling ; some afforded themes to the epic and 
tragic poets ; others suggested subjects to the sculptor and the 
painter ; and still others inspired the actors in Greek history to 
many an heroic deed or adventurous undertaking. 

167. Early Greek Literature : the Homeric Poems. The rich and 
flexible language of the Greeks had already in prehistoric times been 
wrought into epic poems whose beauty and perfection are unequaled 
by the similar productions of any other people. These epics trans- 
mitted from the Greek foretime are known as the Homeric poems 
(the Iliad and the Odyssey)^ to which reference has already been made. 



§168] EARLY GREEK ART 153 

Neither the exact date nor the authorship of the Homeric poems 
is known (sect. 336). That they were the prized possession of the 
Greeks at the beginning of the historical period is all that it is 
important for us to note here. They were a sort of Bible to the 
Greeks, and exercised an incalculable influence not only upon the 
religious but also upon the literary life of the entire Hellenic world. 

168. Early Greek Art. In the field of art the heritage of historic 
Greece from the legendary age consisted rather in a certain inherited 
instinct or feeling for the beautiful than in acquired skill. " The 
Homeric poetry was, indeed," says Professor Jebb, " instinct with 
the promises of Hellenic art. Such qualities of poetical thought, 
such forms of language, announced a race from which great artists 
might be expected to spring." ^ 

This prophecy we shall see passing into fulfillment in the ideal 
perfection of the art of Phidias and Praxiteles. 

Selections from the Sources. Iliad (Bryant's trans.), ii, 1-490 (council of 
the chiefs and assembly of the people). Thallon's Readings, pp. 3-9; Davis's 
Readings (Greece), pp. 65-73, 90-97 ; Fling's Source Book of Greek History., 
pp. 22, 41-53. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. ii, p. i-iii. Grote (ten-volume ed.), 
vol. ii, pp. 164-194 ; vol. iii, pp. 276-297. Holm, vol. i, chaps, i, xi, xix. Bury, 
History of Greece, pp. 65-73. Coulanges, The Aticient City, bks. i-iii. Fowler, 
The City-State of the Greeks and Romans, chaps, i-iii. Diehl, Excursions in 
Greece, chap, vii (on the Grecian games). Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Delphi and the oracle : Richardson, Vacation 
Days in Greece, pp. 24-33. -• The Olympic Festival : Gardiner, Greek Athletic 
Sports and Festivals, chap, ix ; Percy Gardner, Nera Chaptets in Greek History, 
chap. ix. 3. Gymnastics : BJiimner, The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap. viii. 
4. Demeter and Persephone, and the Eleusinian mysteries : Frazer, Spi?-it of 
the Com and of the Wild (The Golden Bough), vol. i, chap, ii ; Fairbanks, 
Mythology of Greece ajid Rome, chap, vi, pp. 171-183; Gayley, Classic Myths 
(consult index). 5. The Greek doctrine of "divine envy." Consult Herodotus 
(Rawlinson's trans.) by index under " Croesus," " Polycrates," and " Artabanus." 

1 "When the Hellenes created the Epos, they were already Greeks ; i.e. the chosen 
people of poetry and art." — Perrot and Chipiez, Histoty of Art in Primitive Greece, 
vol. i, p. 7 



CHAPTER XV 
EARLY SPARTA AND THE PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE 

169. Situation of Sparta. Sparta was one of the cities of the 
Peloponnesus which owed their origin or importance to the Dorian 
Invasion (sect. 145). It was situated in the deep valley of the Eurotas, 
in Laconia, and took its name Sparta (sown land) from the circum- 
stance that it was built upon tillable ground, whereas the heart and 
center of most Greek cities consisted of a lofty rock (the citadel, or 
acropolis). But Sparta needed no citadel. Her situation, surrounded 
as she was by almost impassable mountain barriers, and far removed 
from the sea, was her sufficient defense. Indeed, the Spartans seem 
to have thought it unnecessary even to erect a wall round their city, 
which stood open on every side until late and degenerate times. And 
events justified this feeling of security. So difficult of access to an 
enemy is the valley, that during more than four hundred years of 
Spartan history the waters of the Eurotas never once reflected the 
camp fires of an invading army. 

170. Classes in the Spartan State. The population of Laconia 
was divided into three classes — Spartans, Perioeci, and Helots. The 
Spartans proper were the descendants of the conquerors of the country, 
and were Dorian in race and language.^ They formed but a small 
fraction of the entire population, at no period numbering more than 
ten thousand men capable of bearing arms. 

The Perioeci (dwellers around), who constituted the second class, 
were probably the subjected pre-Dorian inhabitants of the land — 
a mixed ^gean-Achaean population. They are said to have out- 
numbered the Spartans three to one. They were allowed to retain 
possession of their lands, but were forced to pay tribute-rent, and in 
times of war to follow the lead of their Spartan masters. 

1 The Spartans are believed to have had less of the blood of the pre-Hellenic 
inhabitants of Greece in their veins than any others of the historic Greeks. 



§170] CLASSES IN THE SPARTAN STATE 155 

The third and lowest class was composed of slaves, or serfs, called 
Helots. The larger number of these were laborers upon the estates 
of. the Spartans. They were the property of the state, and not of the 
individual Spartan lords, among whom they were distributed by lot. 

These Helots had practically no rights which their Spartan masters 
felt bound to respect. It is afltirmed that when they grew too numer- 
ous for the safety of the state, their numbers were thinned by a 




Fig. 95. Sparta, with the Ranges of the Taygetus in the Background 
(From a photograph) 

deliberate massacre of the surplus population.^ The Ephors (sect. 172), 
when they took office, proclaimed war against the Helots, in order 
that it might be lawful to kill them. The young Spartans, if we may 
believe our authorities, were required to go out at night and kill any 
Helots they came across. Often they would range about the fields 
and make away with the strongest and bravest they could find."^ 

1 " Once, when they [the Spartans] were afraid of the number and vigor of the Helot 
youth, this was what they did : They proclaimed that a selection would be made of those 
Helots who claimed to have rendered the best service to the Lacedaemonians in war, 
and promised them liberty. The announcement was intended to test them ; it was 
thought that those among them who were foremost in asserting their freedom would 
be most high-spirited, and most likely to rise against their masters. -So they selected 
about two thousand, who were crowned with garlands and went in procession round the 
temples ; they were supposed to have received their liberty ; but not long afterwards 
the Spartans put them all out of the way, and no man knew how any one of them came 
by his end." — Thucydides, iv, So (Jowett's trans.) - Plutarch, Lyctirgus, xvii. 



156 EARLY SPARTA [§171 

171. The Legend of Lycurgus. Of the history of Sparta before 
the first Olympiad we have no certain knowledge. Peace, prosperity, 
and rapid growth, according to tradition, were secured through the 
adoption of a most remarkable political constitution framed by a 
great lawgiver named Lycurgus.^ 

Legend represents Lycurgus as having fitted himself for his great 
work through an acquaintance, by converse with priests and sages, 
with the laws and institutions of different lands. He is said to have 
studied with zeal the laws of Minos, the legendary lawgiver of Crete, 
— a tradition which doubtless reflects the fact that the Spartan laws 
were deeply influenced by those of Crete,^ — and to have become, 
like the legislator Moses, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 

Upon the return of Lycurgus to Sparta — we still follow the tradi- 
tion — his learning and wisdom soon made him the leader of a strong 
party. After much opposition a system of laws and regulations drawn 
up by him was adopted by the Spartan people. Then, binding his 
countrymen by a solemn oath that they would carefully observe 
his laws during his absence, he went into an unknown exile. 

It is probable that Lycurgus was a real person and that he had 
something to do with shaping the Spartan constitution. But circum- 
stances, doubtless, were in the main the real creator of the peculiar 
political institutions of Sparta — the circumstances that surrounded 
a small band of conquerors in the midst of a large and subject popu- 
lation. Sparta was a camp, and its laws and usages were the laws 
and usages of a camp. 

172. The Spartan Constitution: the Kings; the Senate; the 
General Assembly ; and the Ephors. The so-called constitution of 
Lycurgus provided for two joint kings, a Senate of Elders, a General 
Assembly, and a sort of executive board composed of five persons 
called Ephors. 

The two kings corresponded in some respects to the two consuls 
of republican Rome. One served as a check upon the other. This 

1 The date of Lycurgus falls somewhere in the ninth century B.C., probably near 
its close. 

2 Thucydides (ii, lo) says that the Spartan constitution was probably very largely 
a copy of the Cretan. 



§173] T.AND, TRADE, AND MONEY 1 57 

double sovereignty worked admirably ; for five centuries there was 
no successful attempt on the part of a Spartan king to subvert the 
constitution. The power of the joint kings, it should be added, came 
to be rather nominal than real, except in time of war. And this, 
according to Plutarch, saved them ; losing the odium of absolute 
power, he says, they escaped being dethroned. 

The Senate consisted of twenty-eight elders. The two coordinate 
kings were also members, thus raising the number to thirty. The 
duties of the body seem to have been both of a judicial and a legis- 
lative character. No one could become a senator until he had reached 
the age of sixty. 

The General Assembly was composed of all the citizens of Sparta 
over thirty years of age. By this body laws were made and questions 
of peace and war decided ; but nothing could be brought before it 
save such matters as the Senate had previously decided might be 
entertained by it. In striking contrast to the custom at Athens, all 
matters were decided without general debate, only the magistrates 
and persons specially invited being allowed to address the assem- 
blage. The Spartans were fighters, not talkers ; they hated windy 
discussion. 

The board of Ephors was composed, as we have noticed, of five 
persons, elected in some way not known to us. This body gradually 
drew to itself many of the powers and functions of the Senate, as 
well as much of the authority of the associate kings. 

173. Regulations as to Land, Trade, and Money. Plutarch says 
that Lycurgus, seeing that the lands had fallen largely into the hands 
of the rich, made a general redistribution of them, allotting an equal 
portion to each of the nine thousand Spartan citizens, and a smaller 
and less desirable portion to each of the thirty thousand Perioeci. It 
is not probable that there ever was such an exact division of landed 
property. The Spartan theory, it is true, seems to have been that 
every free man should possess a farm large enough to support him 
without work, so that he might give himself wholly to his duties as 
a citizen ; but as a matter of fact there existed, at certain periods at 
least, great inequality in landed possessions among the Spartans. In 
the fourth century, according to Plutarch, not more than one hundred 



158 EARLY SPARTA [§174 

of the citizens held any land at all. The historian Eduard Meyer ven- 
tures the opinion that had the land been divided rationally and the 
subject population made equal with the Spartans, Sparta would have 
become the strongest state in Hellas, and might have united all. 

The Spartans were forbidden to go outside the country without 
permission, to engage in commerce, or to pursue any trade ; all their 
time must be passed in the chase, or in gymnastic and martial 
exercises. Iron was made the sole money of the state. This money, 
as described by Plutarch, was so heavy in proportion to its value that 
the amount needed to make a trifling purchase required a yoke of 
oxen to draw it. The object of Lycurgus in instituting such a cur- 
rency was, we are told, to prevent its being used for the purchase 
of worthless foreign stuff.-*^ Of like purpose was another regulation, 
which required that the timbers of the roof of every house should be 
worked only with the ax and the doors with the saw alone. This was 
to discourage ambitious display. 

174. The Common Tables. The most peculiar, perhaps, of the 
Spartan institutions were their common meals. In order to correct 
the extravagance with which the tables of the rich were often spread, 
Lycurgus is said to have ordered that all the citizens should eat 
at public and common tables. This was their custom, but Lycurgus 
could have had nothing to do with instituting it. It was part of 
their military life. 

Every citizen was required to contribute to these common meals 
a certain amount of flour, fruit, game, or pieces from the sacrifices; 
if any one failed to pay his contribution, he was degraded and dis- 
franchised. Excepting the Ephors, none, not even the kings, was 
excused from sitting at the common mess. One of the kings, return- 
ing from an expedition, presumed to dine privately with his wife, but 
received therefor a severe reproof. 

1 The real truth about this iron money is simply this : the conservative, nontrading 
Spartans retained longer than the other Grecian states the use of a primitive medium of 
exchange. Gold and silver money was not introduced into .Sparta until about the close 
of the fifth century b. c, when the great expansion of her interests rendered a change 
in her money system absolutely necessary. In attributing the establishment of the early 
currency to Lycurgus the Spartans simply did in this case just what they did in regard 
to their other usages. 



§175] EDUCATION OF THE YOUTH 159 

A luxury-loving Athenian once visited Sparta, and, seeing the coarse 
fare of the citizens, which seems to have consisted in the main of 
a black broth, is reported to have declared that now he understood 
the Spartan disregard of life in battle : " Any one," said he, " must 
naturally prefer death to life on such fare as this." 

175. Education of the Youth. Children at Sparta were regarded 
as belonging to the state. Every male infant was brought before the 
Council of Elders, and if it did not seem likely to become a robust 
and useful citizen, was condemned to be exposed in a mountain glen. 
At seven the education and training of the youth were committed 
to the charge of public officers, called boy-trainers. The aim of the 
entire course was to make a nation of soldiers who should contemn 
toil and danger and prefer death to military dishonor. 

The mind was cultivated only so far as might contribute to the 
main object of the system. The art of rhetoric was despised. Only 
martial poems were recited — poems that warmed the blood and 
stirred to deeds worthy of record. The Spartans had a profound con- 
tempt for the subtleties and literary acquirements of the Athenians, 
Spartan brevity was a proverb, whence our word laconic (from 
Laconid), meaning a . concise and pithy mode of expression. Boys 
were taught to respond in the fewest words possible. At the public 
tables they were not permitted to speak until questioned ; they sat 
" silent as statues." As Plutarch puts it, " Lycurgus was for having 
the money bulky, heavy, and of little value; and the language, on 
the contrary, very pithy and short, and a great deal of sense com- 
pressed in a few words." Wordy persons, he adds, seldom say 
anything worth remembering. 

But while the mind was neglected, the body was carefully trained. 
In running, leaping, wrestling, and hurling the spear the Spartans ac- 
quired the most surprising nimbleness and dexterity. At the Olympic 
games Spartan champions more frequently than any others bore off 
the prizes of victory. 

But before all things else was the Spartan youth taught to bear 
pain unflinchingly. He was inured to the cold of winter by being 
forced to pass through that season with only the light dress of 
summer. His bed was a bundle of river reeds. Sometimes he was 



l6o EARLY SPARTA ' [§176 

placed before the altar of Artemis and scourged just to accustom 
him to bear pain bravely. Frequently the whipping was so severe 
as to cause death. Plutarch says that he himself had seen many 
boys die under the scourge. 

Another custom tended to the same end as the foregoing usage. 
The boys were at times compelled to forage for their food. If one 
was caught, he was severely punished for having been so clumsy as 
not to get safely away with his booty. This custom, as well as the 
fortitude of Spartan youth, is familiar to all through the story of 
the boy who, having stolen a young fox and concealed it beneath 
his tunic, allowed the animal to tear out his vitals without betraying 
himself by the movement of a muscle. 

That the laws and regulations of the Spartan constitution were 
admirably adapted to the end in view — the rearing of a nation 
of skillful and resolute warriors — the long military supremacy of 
Sparta among the states of Greece abundantly attests. 

176. The Spartan Conquest of Messenia. The most important 
event in Spartan history between the age of Lycurgus and the 
commencement of the Persian wars was the long contest with 
Messenia, known as the First and Second Messenian wars (about 
743-723 and 645-631 B.C.). 

Messenia was one of those districts of the Peloponnesus which, 
like Laconia, had been taken possession of by Dorian bands at the 
time of the great invasion. It was the most pleasant and fertile 
of all the Peloponnesian districts which fell into the hands of the 
Dorians. Here the intruding Dorians, contrary to what was the 
case in Laconia, had mingled with the native population to form 
a new mixed race. 

The outcome of the protracted struggle just referred to was the 
defeat of the Messenians and their reduction to the hard and bitter 
condition of the Helots of Laconia. According to tradition the 
Spartans owed in part their final victory to a poet named Tyrtaeus, 
who, at a critical period of the war, reanimated their drooping spirits 
by his inspiring war songs. 

At the end of each of the two wars, many of the better class of 
the Messenians, preferring exile to servitude, fled beyond the seas to 



§ 177] SPARTA AND THE PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE i6l 

Ionia or to Italy in search of new homes. Some of the fugitives 
conquered for themselves a place in Sicily and gave name and im- 
portance to the still existing city of Messana (Messina), on the 
Sicilian straits. 

Thus Sparta secured possession of Messenia. From the end of 
the Second Messenian War on to the decline of the Spartan power 
in the fourth century B.C., the Messenians were the serfs of the 
Spartans. All the southern part of the Peloponnesus was now 
Spartan territory. 

177. Sparta becomes Head of a Peloponnesian League. After 
Sparta had secured possession of Messenia, her influence and power 
advanced steadily until her leadership was acknowledged by all 
the other states of the Peloponnesus save Argos^ and the cities 
of Achaea. The virtual management of the Olympic games, at 
Olympia, in Elis, was in her hands. Through these national festi- 
vals her name and fame were spread throughout all Hellas. She 
now, as head of a Peloponnesian league, began to be looked to 
even by the Greek cities beyond the Peloponnesus as the natural 
leader and champion of the Greeks. 

Having now traced in brief outline the rise of Sparta to supremacy 
in the Peloponnesus, we must turn aside to take a wider took over 
Hellas, in order to note an expansion movement of the Hellenic 
race which resulted in the establishment of Hellenes upon almost 
every shore of the then known world. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Z;j'rt«;jr?/j-. THucYDiDEs(Jowett's 
trans.), i, lo, i8 (beginning of each section). Thallon's Readings, pp. 87-112; 
Davis's Readings (Greece), pp. 103-111; Fling's Source Book, pp. 54-75. 

References (Modern). Curtius,voI. i, pp. 175-275. Grote (ten-volume ed.), 
vol. ii, pp. 259-377. Abbott, vol. i, chaps, vi-viii. Holm, vol. i, chaps, xv-xvii. 
Allcroft and Masom, Early Grecian History, chaps, viii, xi. Oman, History 
of Greece, chaps. vi.i, viii. Bury, History of Greece, chap. iii. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Argos and King Pheidon: Holm, vol. i, 
chap, xvii, pp. 202-208 ; Bury, Histoiy of Greece, chap, iii, pp. 139-144. 2. The 
Ilelots of Laconia : Thucydides, iv, 80 ; Plutarch, Lycnrgiis, xxvii ; Grote, vol. ii, 
chap, vi, pp. 291-298. 

1 Argos was a Dorian city in Argolis which, under her celebrated king Pheidon, held, 
before the supremacy of Sparta, the leadership in the Peloponnesus. 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE AGE OF COLONIZATION AND OF TYRANNIES 

I. THE AGE OF COLONIZATION (About 750-600 B.C.) 

178. Causes of Greek Colonization. The latter half of the eighth 
and the seventh century B.C. constituted a period in Greek history 
marked by great activity in the establishment of colonies. This 
expansion movement of the Greek race forms an important chapter 
not only in Hellenic but also in general history. 

The inciting causes of Greek colonization at the period named ^ 
were various. One v^^as the growth in wealth of the cities of the 
homeland^ and the consequent expansion of their trade and com- 
merce. This development had created an eager desire for wealth, 
and had given birth to a spirit of mercantile enterprise. Thousands 
were ready to take part in any undertaking which seemed to offer 
a chance for adventure or to open a way to the quick acquisition 
of riches. 

Another motive of emigration was supplied by the. political unrest 
which at this time filled almost all the cities of Greece. The growth 
within their walls of a wealthy trading class, who naturally desired to 
have a part in the government, brought this order in conflict with the 
oligarchs, who in most of the cities at this time held in their hands 
all political authority. The resulting contentions, issuing in the triumph 
now of this party and now of that, or perhaps in the rise of a tyrant 
whose rule often bore heavily on all orders alike, created a large dis- 
contented class, who were ready to undergo the privations attending 
the founding of new homes in remote lands if only thereby they 
might secure freer conditions of life. 

1 We are not concerned in the present chapter with the earlier emigration from 
continental Greece to the islands and eastern shore-lands of the /Egean (sect. 152). 

2 By the homeland, as we here use the term, we mean the western shore of Asia 
Minor, the islands of the .lEgean, and Greece proper. 

162 



§179] THE GREEK COLONY AND MOTHER CITY 163 

Other motives blended with those already mentioned. There was 
the restless Greek spirit, the Greek love of adventure, which doubt- 
less impelled many of the young and ardent to embark in the under- 
takings. To this class especially did Sicily and the other little-known 
lands of the West present a peculiar attraction. 

To all these inciting causes of the great emigration must be added 
the aggressions of Sparta upon her neighbors in the Peloponnesus. 
We have already seen that many of the Messenians, at the end of 
their first and again at the close of their second unsuccessful struggle 
with Sparta, joined the emigrants who just then were setting out for 
the colonies in the western seas (sect. 176). 

179. Relation of a Greek Colony to its Mother City. The history 
of the Greek colonies would be unintelligible without an understand- 
ing of the relation in which a Greek colony stood to the city sending 
out the emigrants. There was a fundamental difference between 
Greek colonization and Roman. The Roman colony was subject 
to the authority of the mother city. The emigrants remained citi- 
zens or semicitizens of Rome. The Greek colony, on the other 
hand, was, in almost all cases, wholly independent of its parent city. 
The Greek mind could not entertain the idea of one city as rightly 
ruling over another, even though that other were her own daughter 
colony.^ 

But while there were no political bonds uniting the mother city 
and her daughter colonies, still the colonies were attached to their 
parent country by ties of kinship, of culture, and of filial piety. The 
sacred fire on the altar of the new home was kindled from embers 
piously borne by the emigrants from the public hearth of the mother 
city, and testified constantly that the citizens of the two cities were 
members of the same though a divided family. Thus by the ties of 
religion were the mother and the daughter city naturally drawn into 
close sympathy. 

1 Besides these independent colonies, however, which were united to the mother city 
by the ties of friendship and reverence alone, there was another class of colonies known 
as clcnichics. The settlers in these did not lose their rights of citizenship in the mother 
city, which retained full control of their affairs. Such settlements, however, were more 
properly garrisons than colonies, and were few in number compared with the independent 
communities. Athens had a number of such colonies. 



i64 THE AGE OF COLONIZATION [§180 

The feeling that the colonists entertained for their mother country 
is shown by the names which they often gave to the prominent 
objects in and about their new home. Just as the affectionate 
memory of the homes from which they had gone out prompted the 
New England colonists to reproduce in the new land the names of 
places and objects dear to them in the old, so did the cherished 
remembrance of the land they had left lead the Greek emigrants 
to give to the streets and temples and fountains and hills of their 
new city the familiar and endeared names of the old home. The new 
city was simply " a home away from home." 

180. The Condition of the Mediterranean World Favorable to the 
Colonizing Movement. The Mediterranean lands were at this time, 
say during the eighth and seventh centuries b. c, in a most favorable 
state for this colonizing movement of the Greeks. The cities of 
Phoenicia, the great rivals of the Greeks in maritime enterprise, had 
been crippled by successive blows from the Assyrian kings, who just 
now were pushing out their empire to the Mediterranean. This 
laming of the mercantile activity of Tyre and Sidon left their trade 
and that of their colonies a prey to the Greeks. It should be noticed, 
however, that after the decline of the cities of Phoenicia, the Phoeni- 
cian colony of Carthage on the African shore gradually grew into a 
new center of Semitic trade and colonizing activity, and practically 
shut the Greeks out of the greater part of the Mediterranean lying 
west of Sicily. 

Another circumstance was favorable to Greek colonization. The 
shores of the Mediterranean were at this time, speaking broadly, 
unoccupied. The great kingdoms of later times, Lydia, Persia, 
Macedonia, and Rome, had not yet arisen, or were still inland 
powers, and indifferent respecting the coast lands ; while the bar- 
barian tribes whose territories bordered upon the sea of course 
attached no special value to the harbors and commercial sites along 
their coasts. But these peoples were advancing in culture and were 
beginning to feel a desire for the manufactures of foreign lands, and 
consequently had a strong motive for welcoming the Greek traders 
to their shores. So between the indifference of the Greeks respect- 
ing the hinterlands, and the indifference of the barbarians respecting 



§ 181] THE CHALCIDIAN COLONIES 165 

the shore-lands, the Greek settlements in general became what an old 
writer said of Massalia (sect. 186), " a fringe of Greece clinging to the 
lands of the barbarians." 

181. The Chalcidian Colonies (about 750-650 B.C.). An early colo- 
nizing ground of the Greeks was the Macedonian coast. Here a triple 
promontory juts far out into the ^gean. On this broken shore 
Chalcis of Euboea, with the help of emigrants from other cities, 
founded so many colonies — thirty-two owned her as their mother 
city — that the land became known as Chalcidice.^ 

One of the chief attractions of this shore to the Greek colonists 
was the rich copper, silver, and gold deposits. The immense slag 
heaps found there to-day bear witness to the former importance of 
the mining industry of the region. The hills, too, were clothed with 
heavy forests which furnished excellent timber for shipbuilding, and 
this was an important item in the trade of the Chalcidian colonies, 
since in many parts of Greece timber was scarce. 

The Chalcidian colonies exercised a very important influence upon 
the course and development of Greek history. Through them it was, 
in large measure, that the inland tribes of Macedonia, particularly the 
ruling class, became so deeply tinged with Hellenic culture.^ It was 
this circumstance which, as we shall learn, gave special historical 
significance to the Macedonian conquests of later times, making 
them, as it did, something more than the mere destructive forays of 
barbarians. 

182. Colonies on the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the Bosphorus. 
A second region full of attractions to the colonists of the enter- 
prising commercial cities of the mother country was that embrac- 
ing the Hellespont and the Bosphorus, together with the connecting 
sheet of water known to the Greeks as the Propontis — " the vesti- 
bule of the Pontus." These water channels, forming as they do 
the gateway to the northern world, early drew the attention of the 
Greek traders. 

1 Potidsea, however, one of the most important cities in Chalcidice, was a colony 
of Corinth. 

2 Thus the colony of Stagira became the birthplace of the great philosopher Aristotle, 
who, through his father's relation as physician to the Macedonian court, was selected as 
the tutor of the prince Alexander (sect. 278). 



l66 THE AGE OF COLONIZATION [§ 183 

Here was founded, among other cities, Byzantium (658 B.C.). The 
city was built, under the special direction of the Delphic oracle, on one 
of the most magnificent sites for a great emporium that the ancient 
world afforded. It was destined to a long and checkered history. 

183. Colonies in the Euxine Region. The tale of the Argonauts 
(sect. 142) shows that in prehistoric times the Greeks probably carried 
on trade with the shores of the Euxine. The chief products of the 
region were fish, grain, and cattle, besides timber, gold, copper, 
and iron. 

The fisheries formed the basis of a very active and important trade. 
The fish markets of the Ionian cities of European Greece and of 
Asia Minor, in which fish formed a chief article of diet among the 
poorer classes, were supplied in large measure by the products of 
these northern fisheries. So large was the trade in wheat and other 
cereals that we may call this Black Sea region the granary of Greece 
in the same sense that North Airica and Egypt were in later times 
called the granary of Rome. 

Still another object of commerce in the Euxine was slaves, one of 
the " first necessaries " of Greek life.^ This region was a sort of slave- 
hunters' land — the Africa of Hellas. It supplied to a great degree 
the slave markets of the Hellenic world. In the modern Caucasian 
slave trade of the Mohammedan sultans we may recognize a survival 
of a commerce which was active twenty-five hundred years ago. 

Eighty colonies in the region of the Euxine are said to have owned 
Miletus as their mother city. The coast of the sea became so crowded 
with Greek cities, and the whole region was so astir with Greek 
enterprise, that the Greeks came to regard this quarter of the world, 
once looked upon as so remote and inhospitable, as almost a part 
of the home country. When the Ten Thousand Greeks on their 
memorable retreat sighted, from the mountains of Armenia, the 
waters of the Pontus, they seemed to feel, that they were already 
home (sect. 265). 

1 " For those commodities which are the first necessaries of existence, cattle and 
slaves, are confessedly supplied by the districts around the Pontus in greater pro- 
fusion and in better quality than any other" (Polybius, iv, 3S). Along with these 
" necessaries " Polybius names honey, wax, and salt-fish as " luxuries." 



§184] 



THE MIGRATION WESTWARD 



167 



184. Colonies on the Ionian Islands and the Adjacent Shores. At 
the same time that the tide of migration was flowing towards the 
north it was also flowing towards the west and covering with a deposit 
of Greek population the Ionian Islands and the coasts of southern 
Italy and Sicily. 

The group of islands lying off the western coast of Greece, known 
as the Ionian Isles, together with the adjacent continental shores, 




Magna Gr^cia and Sicily 



formed an important region of Greek colonization. Corinth, as was 
natural from her position, took a prominent part in the establishment 
of colonies here. One of the most important of her settlements was 
Corcyra. The relations of this colony to its mother city was very 
unfilial, and a quarrel between them was one of the immediate causes 
of the Peloponnesian War (sect. 249). 



i68 



THE AGE OF COLONIZATION 



[§185 



The colonies on the Ionian Islands were the halfway station to 
Italy, and it was by the way of these settlements that Italy during the 
era of colonization received a large and steady stream of immigrants. 

185. Colonies in Southern Italy : Magna Grascia. At this time 
Italy, with the exception of Etruria on the western coast, was occu- 
pied by tribes that had made but little progress in culture. The 
power of Rome had not yet risen. Hence the land was practically 
open to settlement by any 
superior or enterprising race. 




r "ti, - ■ ■ ^ ^T^ ir ■ ^T 



Fig. 96. Ruined Temples at 

P.ESTUM 

Paestum was the Greek Posidonia, in 
Lucania. These ruins, which stand to- 
day on a desolate plain, form the most 
noteworthy existing monuments of the 
early Greek occupation of southern Italy 



Consequently it is not surprising that during •the Greek colonizing 
era southern Italy became so thickly set with Greek cities as to 
become known as Magna Grcecia (Great Greece). Here were 
founded during the latter part of the eighth century p,.c. the impor- 
tant city of Taras, the Tarentum of the Romans (708 B.C.); the 
^olian city of Sybaris (721 B.C.), noted for the luxurious life of 
its citizens, whence our term Sybarite^ meaning a voluptuary ; ^ the 
great Croton (711 B. c), distinguished for its schools of philosophy 
and its victors in the Olympic games ; and Rhegium (about 7 1 5 b. c), 
the mother of statesmen, historians, poets, and artists. 

1 " It was the habit, he [Plutarch] tells us. at Sybaris, to send out invitations with 
a year's notice, in order that the ladies might have time to prepare a splendid toilet." 
— Mah.\ffy, The Silver Age of the Greek World, p. 384 



§186] COLONIES IN SICILY AND SOUTH GAUL 169 

Upon the western coast of the peninsula was the city of Cumae 
(Cyme), famed throughout the ancient world for its oracle and sibyl. 
This was probably the oldest Greek colony in Italy. Near Cyme was 
Neapolis, " the new city " (Naples), probably a colony of Cyme, situ- 
ated on one of the most picturesque bays in Europe. All this shore 
was the scene of cultured Greek life and activity long before Rome 
was anything more than a cluster of rude hill-villages. 

The chief importance of the cities of Magna Graecia for civilization 
springs from their relations to Rome. Through them, without doubt, 
the early Romans received many primary elements of culture, deriv- 
ing thence probably their knowledge of letters as well as of Greek' 
constitutional law. 

186. Greek Colonies in Sicily and Southern Gaul. The island of 
Sicily is in easy sight from the Italian shore. About the same time 
that the southern part of the peninsula was being filled with Greek 
colonists, this island was also receiving a swarm of immigrants. Here 
was planted by the Dorian Corinth the city of Syracuse (734 B.C.), 
which, before Rome had become great, waged war on equal terms 
with Carthage. Upon the southern shore of the island arose Acragas 
(Agrigentum), " the fairest of the cities of men," which became, after 
Syracuse, the most important of the Greek cities in Sicily. 

Sicily was the most disorderly and tumultuous part of Hellas. It 
was the " wild West " of the Hellenic world. It was the land of 
romance and adventure, and seems to have drawn to itself the most 
untamed and venturesome spirits among the Greeks. To the grounds 
of disorder and strife existing among the Greek colonists themselves 
were added two other elements of discord — the native barbarians 
and the Phoenicians. 

That part of Gaul which touches the Mediterranean where the 
Rhone empties into the sea was another region occupied by Greek 
colonists. Here were established several colonies, chief among which 
was Massalia (about 600 b.c), the modern Marseilles. It is from 
the advent of these Greek colonists, rather than from the passage of 
the Alps by the Roman legions centuries later, that we must date the 
beginnings of civilization in southern Gaul. The Romans in those 
parts built upon foundations laid by the Greeks. 



I/O 



THE AGE OF COLONIZATION 



[§187 




Fig. 97. Coin of Cyrene 



187. Colonies in North Africa and Egypt : Cyrene and Naucratis. 

In the seventh century B.C. the Greeks, in obedience to the com- 
mands of the Delphian Apollo, founded on the African coast, nearly 
opposite the island of Crete, the important colony of Cyrene, which 

became the metropolis 
of a large district 
known as Cyrenaica. 
The site of the city 
was one of the best 
on the African shore. 
The rain was so abun- 
dant that the region 
was characterized as 
" the place where the sky leaks." The climate has changed greatly 
since the Greek period. 

In the Nile Delta the Greeks early established the important station 
of Naucratis, This colony was at the height of its prosperity in the 
sixth century B.C., although it certainly existed as early as the begin- 
ning of the seventh century. It was the gateway through which 
Hellenic influences passed into Egypt and Egyptian influences passed 
out into Greece. 

188. Place of the Colonies in Grecian History. The history of dis- 
persed Hellas is closely interwoven with that of continental Hellas, 
In truth, a large part of the his- 
tory of Greece would be unin- 
telligible should we lose sight of 
Greater Greece, just as a large 
part of the history of Europe 
since the seventeenth century 
cannot be understood without a 
knowledge of Greater Europe. 
In colonial interests, rivalries, and jealousies we shall find the inciting 
cause of many of the contentions and wars between the cities of 
the homeland. 

Indeed, in its influence upon the social and intellectual development 
of mankind, the colonization movement which we have been tracing 




Fig. 98. Coin of Corinth 



§189] CHARACTER OF THE TYRANNIES 17I 

may well be compared to that expansion of the English race which 
has established peoples of English speech and culture in so many 
lands and upon so many shores of both the Old and the New World. 
The Greek colonies were the outposts and radiating centers of Greek 
civilization. Through them at many points of the Mediterranean 
world, as in southern Gaul, southern Italy, Macedonia, and Thrace, 
Hellenic culture filtered into and quickened into a higher life the 
neighboring barbarism. 

II. THE TYRANNIES (About 650-500 B.C.) 

189. The Character and Origin of the Greek Tyrannies. The latter 
part of the period of Greek colonization corresponds very nearly to 
what has been called the '^ Earlier Age of the . Tyrants," ^ of whom 
a word must here be said. 

In the heroic age pictured in the Homeric poems the preferred 
form of government among the Greeks was a patriarchal monarchy. 
The Iliad (ii, 203-206) says, " The rule of many is not a good thing : 
let us have one ruler only, — one king, — him to whom Zeus has 
given the scepter." But by the dawn of the historic period, the patri- 
archal monarchies of the Achasan Age had given place, in almost all 
the Grecian cities, to oligarchies or aristoGra<:ies. A little later, just 
as the Homeric monarchies had been superseded by oligarchies, so 
were these in many of the Greek cities superseded by tyrannies. 

By the term tyrannos (tyrant) the Greeks did not mean one who 
ruled harshly, but simply one who held the . supreme authority in 
the state illegally. Some of the Greek tyrants were beneficent rulers, 
though too often they were all that the name implies among us. 
Sparta was almost the only important state which did not at one 
time or another fall into the hands of a tyrant. 

The causes that in so many cities led to the overthrow of oligarchic 
rule and the establishment of government by a single person were 

1 For a hundred years after the expulsion of the tyrants from Athens (sect. 203) there 
were no tyrants in Greece proper, and for a great part of this time there were no tyrants 
anywhere in the Greek world. In the fourth century B.C. tyrants arose again, particularly 
in Sicily. This distribution in time of these rulers leads some historians to divide the 
tyrannies into an earlier and a later age. 



172 THE AGE OF COLONIZATION [§190 

various, A main cause, however, of the rise of tyrannies is found 
in the misrule of the oligarchs, into whose hands the royal author- 
ity of earlier times had passed. By their selfish, cruel, and arbitrary 
administration of the government, they provoked the revolt of the 
people and invited destruction. The factions, too, into which they 
were divided weakened their authority and paved the way for 
their fall. 

Working with the above causes to undermine the influence of 
the oligarchs, was the advance in intelligence and wealth of the 
trading classes in the mercantile and commercial states of Greece, 
especially in the Ionian cities, and their resulting discontent with 
the oppressive rule of the aristocratic families and desire to partici- 
pate in the government. 

Generally the person setting up a tyranny was some ambitious 
disappointed member of the aristocracy, who had held himself out as 
the champion of the people, and who, aided by them, had succeeded 
in overturning the hated government of the oligarchs. 

190. The Greek Feeling towards the Tyrants. The tyrants sat 
upon unstable thrones. The Greeks, always lovers of freedom, had 
an inextinguishable hatred of these despots.'- Furthermore, the odious 
vices and atrocious crimes of some of them caused the whole class 
to be regarded with the utmost abhorrence — so much so that tyran- 
nicide (that is, the killing of a tyrant) came to be regarded by the 
Greeks as a supremely virtuous act. The slayer of a tyrant was 
looked upon as a devoted patriot and preeminent hero (sect. 203). 

Consequently the tyrannies were, as a rule, short-lived, rarely 
lasting longer than three generations. They were usually violently 
overthrown, and democracies set up in their place, or the old oli- 
garchies reestablished. Speaking broadly, the Dorian cities preferred 
aristocratic government, and the Ionian cities democratic. 

Sparta, which state, as has been noted, never fell into the hands 
of a tyrant, was very active in aiding those cities that had been so 
unfortunate as to have their government usurped by despots to drive 

1 A Greek writer voices this feeling as follows : " The mere word ' tyrant ' involves 
the idea of everything that is wickedest, and includes every injustice and crime possible 
to mankind." — Polybius, ii, 59 



§191] PERIANDER, TYRANT OF CORINTH 173 

out the usurpers and to reestablish their aristocratic constitutions.^ 
Athens, as we shall see, on escaping from the tyranny under which 
she for a time rested, became the representative and the ardent 
champion of democracy. 

191. A Typical Tyrant; Periander of Corinth (625-585 B.C.). To 
repeat in detail the traditional accounts of all the tyrants that arose 
in the different cities of Hellas during the age of the tyrannies 
would be both wearisome and unprofitable ; wearisome because the 
tales of the various despots possess a singular sameness, and un- 
profitable because these stories are often manifestly colored and 
distorted by popular prejudice and hatred, since the Greeks of a 
later time could hardly speak temperately of a tyrant, so unutter- 
ably odious to them was even the name itself. We shall therefore 
here simply give in brief form the story of two or three of these 
unconstitutional rulers, who may be taken as fair representatives 
of their class. 

Among the most noted of the tyrants was Periander of Corinth 
(625-5S5 B.C.). According to Herodotus, Periander learned from 
Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus, the art of playing the tyrant safely. 
He sent a messenger to that despot to ask him the best way to 
conduct his government. Thrasybulus is said to have conducted the 
envoy to a field of grain, and, as they walked through it, to have 
broken off and thrown away such heads as lifted themselves above 
the others. Then, without a word, he dismissed the messenger. The 
man, returning to Periander, reported that he had been able to 
secure from Thrasybulus not a single word of advice, but told how 
singularly he had acted in destroying the best of his crop of grain. 
Periander understood the parable, and straightway began to destroy 
all those citizens whose heads overtopped the others. 

Periander maintained a court which rivaled in splendor that of 
an oriental potentate. Like .many another tyrant, he was a generous 
patron of artists and literary men. 

1 Her aim in this policy was to strengthen her own influence in these cities by pre- 
serving in them institutions like her own, and by keeping the control of their public 
affairs in the hands of a few families who should be under the necessity of looking to 
her for the support of their authority. 



174 THE AGE OF COLONIZATION [§192 

192. Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos (535-522 B.C.). Another tyrant 
whose deeds were noised throughout the Hellenic world, and the 
vicissitudes of whose career left a deep impression upon the Greek 
imagination, was Polycrates of Samos. 

Polycrates established his rule in Samos in the way so common 
with the tyrants — by overturning through violence the government 
of his own order, the oligarchs. Having made Samos his stronghold, 
Polycrates conquered many of the surrounding islands in the ^gean, 
together with several of the cities of the Asian mainland, and made 
himself the head of a maritime empire, which he maintained with 
a fleet that was the largest any Greek state had up to that time 
collected. 

Like Periander, Polycrates maintained a magnificent court, to 
which he invited, among other persons of fame and learning, the 
celebrated lyric poet Anacreon, a native of Ionia, who seems to have 
enjoyed to the full the gay and easy life of a courtier, and who, 
inspired by the congenial atmosphere of his patron's palace, sang so 
voluptuously of love and wine and festivity that the term Anacreontic 
has come to be used to characterize all poetry overredolent of 
these themes. 

The astonishing good fortune and uninterrupted prosperity of 
Periander awakened, according to Herodotus, the alarm of his 
friend and ally, Amasis, king of Egypt, who became convinced that 
such felicity in the lot of a mortal must awaken the envy of the 
gods (sect. 163), and accordingly broke off his alliance with him. 

The issue justified the worst fears of Amasis. Polycrates was 
lured to the Asian shore by a Persian satrap, a bitter enemy of his, 
and put to a shameful and cruel death. 

193. Benefits Conferred by the Tyrants upon Greek Civilization. 
The rule of the tyrants conferred upon Greek civilization some bene- 
fits which, perhaps, could not have been so well secured under any 
other form of government. 

Thus the tyrants, through the connections which they naturally 
formed with foreign kings and despots, broke the isolation in which 
the Greek cities up to this time had lived. Pheidon of Argos — a 
tyrant of the better class — was in close relations with the Lydian 



§193] BENEFITS CONFERRED BY THE TYRANTS 175 

kings ; and Polycrates, as we have seen, was the friend and ally of 
Amasis, king of Egypt. These connections between the courts of the 
tyrants and those of the rulers of oriental countries opened the cities 
of the Hellenic world to the influences of those lands of culture, 
widened their horizon, and enlarged the sphere oi their commercial 
enterprise. 

Again, the tyrants, some of them at least, as, for example, Periander 
of Corinth, Polycrates of Samos, and Pisistratus of Athens, were 
liberal patrons of art and literature. Poetry and music flourished in 
the congenial atmosphere of their luxurious courts, while architecture 
was given a great impulse by the public buildings and works which 
many of them undertook with a view of embellishing their capitals, 
or of winning the favor of the poorer classes by creating oppor- 
tunities for their employment. Thus it happened that the age of the 
tyrants was a period marked by an unusually rapid advance of many 
of the Greek cities in their artistic, intellectual, and industrial life. 

In the political realm also the tyrants rendered eminent services 
to Greece. By depressing the oligarchies and lifting the people, they 
created a sort of political equality between these rival orders of 
society, and thereby helped to pave the way for the incoming of 
democracy. They were also active in the establishment of colonies, 
and so gave a great impulse to that expansion movement of the 
Greek race which meant so much for Greek civilization. 

In still another way — in the way implied in Emerson's adage to 
the effect that bad kings help us, if only they are bad enough — did 
the tyrants render a great service to the cause of constitutional 
government in the Greek cities. As we have seen, they rendered 
rule by a single person unrestrained by law inexpressibly odious to 
the Greeks, and thus deepened their love for constitutional govern- 
ment and made them extremely watchful of their freedom. The bare 
suspicion that any person was scheming to make himself a tyrant was 
often enough to insure his immediate expulsion from the city or the 
infliction of some worse punishment. 

Selections from the Sources. Herodotus, iv, 150-153, 156-159 (on the part 
taken by the Delphic oracle in the founding of Cyrene). Thallon's Readings, 
chaps, ii, iv; Davis's Readings (Greece), pp. 99.-102, 114-117. 



1/6 THE AGE OF COLONIZATION 

References (Modern). For the colonies: Curtius, vol. i, pp. 432-500. 
Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. iii, pp. 163-220, 247-275. Abbott, vol. i, pp. 333- 
365. Holm, vol. i, chap. xxi. Oman, Histoiy of Greece, chap. ix. Bury, 
History of Greece, chap. ii. KELLER, Colonization., pp. 39—50. 

For the tyrannies : Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. ii, pp. 378-421. Holm, 
vol. i, chap. xxii. Fowler, The City-State of the Greeks and Romans, chaps, iv, v. 
Mahaffy, Problems in Greek History, chap, iv, and Survey of Greek Civilization, 
pp. 99-101. Cox, Lives of Greek Statesjnen, " Polykrates." 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The trade of the Pontus, or Euxine : Curtius, 
vol. i, pp. 439-441. 2. Relations of a colony to its mother city. Curtius, vol. i, 
pp. 496-500. 3. The Delphic oracle and Greek colonization : Herodotus, iv, 
150-153, 156-159; Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 49, 50. 4. Tale^ of the tyrants Cypselus, 
Polycrates, and Periander : Herodotus (consult index). 




CHAPTER XVII 
THE HISTORY OF ATHENS UP TO THE PERSIAN WARS 

194. The Beginnings of Athens. Four or five miles from the sea, 
a little hill, about one thousand feet in length and half as many in 
width, rises about one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the 
plains of Attica. The security afforded by this eminence doubtless 
led to its selection as a stronghold by the early settlers of the Attic 
plains. Here a few buildings, perched upon the summit of the rock 
and surrounded by a palisade, constituted the beginnings of the capital 
whose fame has spread over all the world. 

195. The Kings of Athens. In the prehistoric age Athens was 
ruled by kings, like the other Greek cities. The name of Theseus is 
one of the most noted of the regal line. To him tradition ascribed 
the work of uniting the separate Attic villages or strongholds, twelve 
in number, into a single city-state, thus making all the villagers 
Athenian citizens.^ The annexed or absorbed villages or towns kept 
their minor offices and their social and religious institutions. 

This prehistoric union of the Attic communities, however or by 
whomsoever effected, laid the basis of the greatness of Athens. 
How much the union meant for Athens, how it stood related to 
her ascendancy afterwards in Greece, is shown by the history of 
Thebes. Although holding the same relation to Boeotia that Athens 
held to Attica, Thebes never succeeded in uniting the Boeotian towns 

1 It was not an unusual thing for the Greeks to create a city in this way, and on the 
other hand to destroy one by separating it into villages. 
EN 177 



178 



EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS 



[§196 



into a single city-state, and consequently fretted away her strength in 
constant bickerings and wars with them. 

196. The Archons. By the dawn of history the real power in the 
Athenian state had slipped out of the hands of the royal family and 
had come into the hands of the nobles. The old-time duties of the 
king had been assigned to magistrates chosen by the nobles from 
among themselves. A little after the opening of the seventh century 
we find a board of nine persons, called Archons, of whom the king 

in a subordinate posi- 
tion was one, stand- 
ing at the head of the 
Athenian state. The 
old Homeric mon- 
archy had become an 
oligarchy. 

197. The Council 
of the Areopagus and 
the General Assembly. 
Besides the board of 
Archons there was in 
the Athenian state at 
this time a very im- 
portant tribunal, called the Council of the Areopagus.^ This council 
was a purely aristocratic body. Its members held office for life. 
The duty of the council was to see that the laws were duly observed, 
and to judge and punish great criminals. There was no appeal 
from its decisions. This council was, at the opening of the historic 
period, the real power in the Athenian state. 

In addition to the board of Archons and the Council of the 
Areopagus, there is some evidence of the existence of a general 
assembly ('EKKXr/crta, Ecdesia), in which all those who served in the 
heavy-armed forces of the state had a place.^ 

1 So called from the name of the hill " Apetos 7rd70j, " Hill of Ares," which was the 
assembling place of the council. It was " in the midst " of this hill that the Apostle Paul 
stood when he made his eloquent defense of Christianity (see Acts xvii, 22-31). 

2 The meetings of the Ecclesia in early times, until the construction of the Theater 
of Dionysus (sect. 320), were held on a low hill to the west of the Acropolis, supposed 




Fig. 99. The Bema, or Orator's Stand, on 
THE Pnyx Hill, Athens.^ (From a photograph) 



§198] CLASSES IN THE ATHENIAN STATE 179 

198. Classes in the Athenian State. The leading class in the 
Athenian state were the nobles, or Eupatrids. These men were 
wealthy landowners, a large part of the best soil of Attica, it is 
said, being held by them. As already shown, all political authority 
was in their hands. 

Beneath the nobles we find the body of the nominally free inhabi- 
tants. Many of them were tenants living in a condition little removed 
from serfdom upon the estates of the wealthy nobles. They paid 
rent in kind to their landlords, and in case of failure to pay, they, 
together with their wives and children, might be seized by the pro- 
prietor and sold as slaves. Others owned their little farms, but at 
the time of which we are speaking had fallen in debt to the wealthy 
class, their fields being heavily mortgaged to the money lenders. Thus 
because of their wretched economic condition, as well as because of 
their exclusion from the government, these classes among the common 
people were filled with bitterness towards the nobles and were ready 
for revolution. 

199. Draco's Code (621 B.C.). It was probably to quiet the people 
and to. save the state from anarchy^ that the nobles at this time 
appointed a person named Draco, one of their own order, to write 
out and publish the laws.^ In carrying into effect his commission, 
Draco probably did little more than reduce existing rules and cus- 
toms to a definite and written form. The laws as published were 
very severe. Death was the penalty for the smallest theft. This 
severity of the Draconian laws is what caused a later Athenian 
orator to say that they were written, " not in ink, but in blood." 
But Draco was not responsible for their harshness ; he made them 
no harsher than they were in their unwritten form. 

to be identical with the so-called Pnyx Hill of to-day. On the Pnyx Hill may be seen a 
platform mounted by steps, the whole cut out of the native rock (Fig. 99). This rock 
pulpit is believed to be the celebrated Bema of the Athenian orators. 

1 Taking advantage of the unrest in the state, Cylon, a rich and ambitious noble, had 
just made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the supreme power (the Rebellion of Cylon, 
628 or 624 B.C.). 

2 Up to this time the rules and customs of the city had been unwritten, and hence 
the Eupatrid magistrates, who alone administered the laws, could and often did interpret 
them unfairly in favor of their own class. The people demanded that the customs should 
be put in writing and published, so that every one might know just what they were. 



i8o EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS [§200 

There was one real and great defect in Draco's work. He did 
not accomplish anything in the way of land or economic reform, and 
thus did nothing to give relief to those who were struggling with 
poverty and were the victims of the harsh laws of debt. 

200. The Reforms of Solon (594 B.C.). This condition of the poorer 
classes made urgent some measures of relief. Once more, as in the 
time of Draco, the Athenians placed their laws in the hands of a 
single man to be remodeled as he might deem best. Solon, one 
of the noblest and best beloved of the so-called Seven Wise Men 
(sect. 354), a man held in high esteem by all Athenians on account 
of distinguished public services, was selected to discharge this re- 
sponsible duty. He turned his attention first to relieving the misery 
of the debtor class. He canceled all debts for which the debtor 
had pledged his liberty, and set free all who had been sold into 
slavery for debt. Moreover, that there might never again be seen 
in Attica the spectacle of men dragged off in chains to be sold as 
slaves in payment of their debts, Solon prohibited the practice of 
securing debts on the body of the debtor. No Athenian was ever 
after this sold for debt. 

Such was the most important of the economic reforms of Solon.^ 
His constitutional reforms were equally wise and beneficent. The 
Ecclesia, or popular assembly, was at this time composed of all those 
persons who were able to provide themselves with arms and armor ; 
that is to say, of all the members of the three highest of the four 
property classes into which the people were divided. '^ The fourth 
and poorest class, the Thetes, were excluded. Solon opened the 
Ecclesia to them, giving them the right to vote, but not to hold 
office. An even more important constitutional change made by 
Solon was the establishment of popular courts of justice, whereby the 
magistrates became responsible to the people, who henceforth not 
only elected them, but judged them in case they did wrong. " The 
constitution of the judicial courts out of the whole people ^ was the 

1 According to some authorities Solon gave further rehef to debtors by annulling all 
debts secured on land and by remitting a part of other debts. .. 

2 " It is doubtful whether Solon first instituted, or merely availed himself of the 
divisions of the citizens into the four classes." — Greenidge, Roman Public Life 
(1901), p. 151 3 See sect. 242. 



§201] PISISTRATUS, TYRANT OF ATHENS i8l 

secret of democracy which Solon discovered. It is his title to fame in 
the history of the growth of popular government in Europe " (Bury). 

Furthermore, Solon created a very important council composed 
of four hundred members, and hence called the Council of the Four 
Hundred.^ Its chief duty was to prepare measures to be laid before 
the public assembly. 

Besides his relief measures and constitutional reforms, Solon made 
various decrees in the interest of morality and good citizenship. He 
forbade evil speaking, at certain times and in certain places, not 
only of the dead but also of the living ; forbade women to go about 
at night except in a wagon with a light carried before it ; forbade 
hired mourners at a funeral ; ruled that a son need not support his 
father if the father had neglected to teach him a trade ; and decreed 
that any one failing to take sides in political party fights should forfeit 
his citizenship and be regarded as infamous.^ 

After having established his constitution and laws, in order to es- 
cape answering troublesome questions, Solon, according to Plutarch, 
left Athens and went abroad. Following the tradition current in his 
day, Plutarch makes him to have visited Croesus (sect. 102), and to 
have had with him the famous discussion on what constitutes true 
happiness.^ All this is probably pure invention, for it is hardly pos- 
sible to make Solon and Croesus contemporaries, but Plutarch thinks 
that so good a story ought not to be given up " because of so-called 
rules of chronology." 

201. Pisistratus makes himself Tyrant of Athens (560 B.C.). The 
reforms of Solon naturally worked hardship to many persons. These 
became bitter enemies of the new order of things. Moreover, the 
reformed constitution failed to work smoothly. Taking advantage of 
the situation, Pisistratus, an ambitious noble and a nephew of the 
lawgiver Solon, resolved to seize the supreme power. This man 
courted popular favor and called himself " the friend of the people." 
One day having inflicted many wounds upon himself, he drove his 
chariot hastily into the public square, and pretended that he had 

1 This council replaced an earlier one consisting of four hundred and one members. 

2 Plutarch, Solon, xxi, xxii. 

8 Plutarch, Solon, xxvi, xxvii ; see also Herodotus, i, 30-33. 



i82 EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS [§202 

been thus set upon by the nobles, because of his devotion to the 
people's cause. The people voted him a guard of fifty men. Under 
cover of raising this company, Pisistratus gathered a much larger 
force, seized the Acropolis, and made himself master of Athens. 
Though twice expelled from the city, Pisistratus as often returned 
and reinstated himself in the tyranny. 

202. Character of the Rule of Pisistratus. Pisistratus gave Athens 
a mild rule, and under him the city enjoyed a period of great pros- 
perity. He may be taken as a type of the better class of Greek 
tyrants, and much that was said in an earlier chapter respecting the 
domestic and foreign policies of these rulers finds illustration in the 
circumstances of his reign. 

It was, as we have . seen, the general policy of the tyrants to 
strengthen themselves by means of foreign alliances. This we find 
Pisistratus doing. He entered into alliances with Sparta, Thebes, 
Macedonia, and other states. Through these various connections 
Pisistratus made firmer his position both at home and abroad, while 
giving at the same time a wider range to the growing fame of 
Athens and enlarging the field of enterprise of the Athenian traders. 

But before all else was the tyrant, in imitation of so many others 
of his class, a liberal patron of the gods and of art. He established 
or at least gave increased splendor to what was known as the Great 
Panathenaea,-^ a festival held every fourth year, in honor of Athens' 
patron goddess Athena, a main feature of which was a brilliant pro- 
cession of youth carrying a rich robe woven by Athenian maidens 
and matrons as a gift to the virgin goddess ; instituted a new festival 
in honor of Dionysus ; and began at Athens the erection of a temple 
to Zeus Olympius on such a magnificent scale that it remained 
unfinished until the resources of the Roman emperor Hadrian, 
nearly seven hundred years later, carried the colossal building to 
completion. 

Nor did Pisistratus fail to follow the traditional policy of the tyrants 
in respect to the patronage of letters. He invited to his court the 
literary celebrities of the day. He is credited with having gathered 

1 An annual festival in honor of the same patron goddess continued to be celebrated 
as hitherto, but henceforth was known as the Lesser Panathenaea. 



203] 



THE ATHENIAN TYRANNICIDES 



183 



the first public library at Athens, and is said to have caused the 
Homeric poems to be CQllected and critically edited. These poems 
were thus given their final form — an event in the literary history 
of Greece that has been likened in importance to the publication 
of King James's version of the Bible in the literary history of the 
English people. He is said also to have added to the embellishments 
of the Lyceum, a sort of public park just outside the city walls, 
which in after times became one of 
the favorite resorts of the poets, 
philosophers, and pleasure seekers of 
the capital. 

203. Expulsion of the Tyrants from 
Athens (510 b.c). The two sons of 
Pisistratus, Hippias and Hipparchus, 
succeeded to his power. At first they 
emulated the example of their father, 
and Athens flourished under their rule. 
But at length an unfortunate event 
gave an entirely different tone to the 
government. Hipparchus, having in- 
sulted a young noble named Harmo- 
dius, this man, in connection with 
his friend Aristogiton and some 
others, planned to assassinate both 
the tyrants. Hipparchus was slain, 
but the plans of the conspirators mis- 
carried as to Hippias. Harmodius 
was struck down by the guards of the tyrants, and Aristogiton, after 
having been tortured in vain to force him to reveal the names of 
the other conspirators, was put to death. 

We have already spoken of how tyrannicide appeared to the Greek 
mind as an eminently praiseworthy act (sect. 190). This is well illus- 
trated by the grateful and venerated remembrance in which Harmo- 
dius and Aristogiton were ever held by the Athenians. Statues were 
raised in their honor (Fig. 100), and the story of their deed was 
rehearsed to the youth as an incentive to patriotism and self-devotion. 




Fig. 100. The Athenian 

Tyrannicides, Harmodius 

AND Aristogiton 

Marble statues in the Naples Mu- 
seum, recognized as ancient copies 
of the bronze statues set up at Athens 
in commemoration of the assassina- 
tion of the tyrant Hipparchus 



184 EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS [§204 

The plot had a most unhappy effect upon the disposition of 
Hippias. It caused him to become suspicious and severe. His rule 
now became a tyranny indeed. With the help of the Spartans he 
was finally driven out of the city. 

204. The Reforms of Clisthenes (508 B.C.). Straightway upon the 
expulsion of the tyrant Hippias, old feuds between factions of the 
nobles broke out afresh. A prominent noble named Clisthenes, head 
of one of the factions, feeling that he was not receiving in the way 
of coveted office the recognition from his own order which his merits 
deserved, allied himself with the common people as their champion. 
He thus got control of affairs in the state. With power once in his 
hands he used it to remold the constitution into a form still more 
democratic than that given it by Solon. 

One of the most important of his measures was that by which he 
conferred citizenship upon a great body of poor Athenians who had 
hitherto been excluded from the rights of the city, and also upon 
many resident aliens and freedmen. This measure, which was effected 
through a regrouping of the people,-' made such radical changes in 
the constitution in the interests of the masses that Clisthenes has 
been called '^ the second founder of the Athenian democracy." 

205. Ostracism. Among the other innovations or institutions 
generally ascribed to Clisthenes was the celebrated one known as 
ostracism. By means of this process any person who had excited 
the suspicions or displeasure of the people could, without trial, be 
banished from Athens for a period of ten years. Six thousand 

1 The population of Attica comprised originally four tribes (4>v'\ai) membership in 
which was based on birth. In place of these four tribes Clisthenes formed ten new tribes 
in which he enrolled all free native Athenians, including, it would seem, many resident 
aliens and emancipated slaves. These new tribes, which were practitally geographical 
divisions of Attica, were each made up of a number of local subdivisions called dcmes, or 
townships. The demes constituting any given tribe were scattered about Attica. The 
object of this was to break up the old factions, and also to give each tribe some territory 
in or near Athens, so that at least some of its members should be within easy reach of 
the meeting place of the Ecclesia. Fifty men chosen by lot from each of the ten new 
tribes constituted a new Council of Five Hundred, which took the place of the old 
Council of Four Hundred (sect. 200). A few years after the creation of these new tribes 
an important change was made in the organization of the army. In place of the four 
straiegi, or generals, who commanded the forces of the four old tribes, ten generals 
were now elected, one by each of the ten new tribes. 



§206] SPARTA'S JEALOUSY OF ATHENS 185 

votes ^ cast against any person in a meeting of the popular assembly 
was a decree of banishment. The name of the person whose banish- 
ment was sought was written on a shell or a piece of pottery, in 
Greek ostrakon (^oarpaKov), whence the term ostracism. 

The design of this institution was to prevent the recurrence of such 
a usurpation as that of Pisistratus. It was first used to get rid of 
some of the old friends of the ex-tyrant Hippias, who, the Athenians 
had reason to believe, were plotting for his return. Later the vote 
came to be employed, as a rule, simply to settle disputes between 
rival leaders of political parties. Thus the vote merely expressed 
political preference, the ostracized person being simply the defeated 
candidate for popular favor. No stigma or disgrace attached to him. 

The power that the device of ostracism lodged in the hands of 
the people was not always wisely used, and some of the ablest and 
most patriotic statesmen of Athens were sent into exile through 
the influence of some demagogue who for the moment had caught 
the popular ear.^ 

206. Sparta Opposes the Athenian Democracy. The aristocratic 
party at Athens was naturally bitterly opposed to all these demo- 
cratic innovations. The Spartans also viewed with disquiet and 
jealousy this rapid growth of the Athenian democracy, and, inviting 
Hippias over from Asia, tried to overthrow the new government and 
restore him to power. But they did not succeed in their purpose, 
because their allies refused to aid them in such an undertaking, and 
Hippias went away to Persia to seek aid of King Darius. We shall 
hear of him again. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, &/(?«. Aristotle, ^MmzVz;/ Con- 
stitution, 13-19. Thallon's I\:eaditigs, pp. 1 13-145; Davis's Readings (Greece), 
pp. 1 17-129; Fling's Source Book, pp. 77-97. 

1 Or possibly the largest vote cast against any person in an assembly of not less than 
six thousand citizens. The authorities are not clear. 

2 The institution was short-lived. It was resorted to for the last time during the 
Peloponnesian War (418 B.C.). The people then, in a freak, ostracized a man. Hyper- 
bolus by name, whom all admitted to be the meanest man in Athens. This; it is said, 
was regarded as such a degradation of the institution, as well as such an honor to the 
mean man, that never thereafter did the Athenians degrade a good man or honor a bad 
one by a resort to the measure. 



1 86 EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. i, pp. 316-431. Grote (ten-volume 
ed.), vol. ii, pp. 422-529; vol. iii, pp. 324-398. Abbott, vol. i, chaps, ix, xiii, 
XV. The accounts of the Athenian constitution in Curtius, Grote, and Abbott, 
which were written before the discovery of the Aristotelian treatise, must 
be read in the light of the new evidence. Holm, vol. i, chaps, xxvi-xxviii. 
Allcroft and Masom, Early Grecian History, chaps, xii-xv. Cox, Lives of 
Greek Statesmen, " Solon," " Peisistratus," and " Kleisthenes." Greenidge, 
Handbook of Greek Constitutional Histoiy, chap, vi, sects. 1-3. Oman, History 
of Greece, chaps, xi, xii. Bury, History of Greece, chap, iv, sect, iv ; chap, v, 
sect. ii. Seignobos (Wilde ed.). History of Ancient Civilization, chap. xii. 
Youthful readers will enjoy Harrison, Story of Greece, chaps, xvi-xviii. 

Topics for Class Reports, i . The environment of Athens : Tucker, Life 
in Ancient Athens, chap. ii. 2. Story of Solon and Croesus : Plutarch, Solon, 
xxvii, xxviii. 3. The Council and the Assembly (Ecclesia) : Tucker, Life in 
Ancient Athens, chap. x'm. 4. Dwelling-houses: GuYick, The Life of the Ancient 
Greeks, chap. iii. 5. The occupations of farming and herding : Gulick, The 
Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap. xvii. 6. The Athenian vase trade (" One of 
the most interesting phenomena in the history of ceramic art is the absorption 
of the market of the world by Attic wares.") : The Annual of the British School 
at Athens, No. xi, pp. 224 ff., " The Distribution of Attic Vases " ; Fowler and 
Wheeler, Greek Archaology, pp. 471-506. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

HELLAS OVERSHADOWED BY THE RISE OF PERSLA. : 
PRELUDE TO THE PERSLA.N WARS 

207. The Real Cause of the Persian Wars. In a foregoing chapter 
on Greek colonization we showed how the expansive energies of the 
Greek race, chiefly during the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., 
covered the islands and shores of the Mediterranean world with 
a free, liberty-loving, progressive, and ever-growing population of 
Hellenic speech and culture. 

The first half of the sixth century had barely passed before this 
promising expansion movement was first checked and then seriously 
cramped by the rise of a great despotic Asiatic power, the Persian 
Empire, which, pushing outward from its central seat on the table- 
lands of Iran to the ^gean Sea, before the close of the century had 
subjugated the Greek cities of Asia Minor and was threatening to 
overwhelm in like manner those of European Greece. Here must be 
sought the real cause of the memorable wars between Hellas and Persia. 

To understand, then, the character and import of the contest which 
we are approaching, we must now turn from our study of the rising 
cities of Greece in order to cast a glance at this colossal empire whose 
giant shadow was thus darkening the bright Hellenic world, and whose 
steady encroachments upon the Greek cities threatened to leave the 
Greeks no standing room on the earth. 

As we have already watched from the standpoint of the oriental 
world the rise of the Persian Empire (Chapter IX), we shall here 
notice only those conquests of the Persian kings which concerned 
the Hellenic race, in whose fortunes we cannot now but feel an 
absorbing interest. 

208. Conquest by Cyrus of the Asiatic Greek Cities (546-544 B.C.). 
It will be recalled that the Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the 
Great (sect. 102), and that among the states of Asia Minor which he 

187 



l88 HELLAS AND THE RISE OF PERSIA [§209 

brought under his dominion was the kingdom of Lydia. The Greek 
cities of the Asian coast which had formed part of the Lydian king- 
dom soon realized of what serious concern to them was the revolution 
that had transferred authority in Asia Minor from Lydian to Persian 
hands. Cyrus had asked them to join him in his war against Croesus, 
but all except Miletus, satisfied with the easy conditions which that king 
had imposed upon them, refused to listen to any proposal of the kind. 

Upon the downfall of Croesus, these cities hastened to offer sub- 
mission to the conqueror, asking that he would allow them to retain 
all the privileges which they had enjoyed under the Lydian monarchy. 
Cyrus refused their petition. Thereupon they closed their gates 
against him, and resolved to fight for their liberties. In a short time, 
however, all were reduced to submission. 

Many of the lonians, rather than live in Ionia as slaves, abandoned 
their old homes and sought new ones among the colonies of Western 
Hellas and on the Thracian shore. All the remaining inhabitants of 
the Asian Greek cities, together with those of the large islands 
of Chios and Lesbos, became subjects of the Persian king. The 
cities retained the management of their own affairs, under such gov- 
ernments as they chanced to have, but were forced to pay tribute, 
and to furnish contingents to the army of their master. 

Thus at one blow was the whole of the eastern shore of the 
.^gean, the cradle and home of the earliest development in Greek 
poetry, philosophy, and art, severed from the Hellenic world. 

209. Conquest of Phoenicia, Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene by Camby- 
ses (529-522 B.C.). Under Cyrus' son, Cambyses, the Persian power 
pressed still more heavily upon the Greek world. 

Cambyses first brought the cities of Phoenicia under his authority, 
and thus obtained control of their large naval resources. Straightway 
their galleys were ordered to be put in readiness to aid in the pro- 
posed subjection of Egypt. To the Phoenician fleet when collected 
was added a large contingent of ships furnished by the Asian Greeks, 
who were thus compelled to assist their master in reducing to slavery 
the rest of the world. Cyprus, a dependency of Egypt, was now con- 
quered, and the naval strength of that island added to the already 
formidable armament of the Persian kiner. 



§210] THE FALL OF POLYCRATES 189 

Supported by his fleet, Cambyses marched his army from Syria 
into Egypt and, as already stated (sect. 103), speedily brought that 
country under his control. The conquest of Egypt drew after it the 
subjection to the Persian power of the Greek colonies of Gyrene and 
Barca on the African coast. 

This extension of the authority of the Persian king over Phoenicia, 
Gyprus, Egypt, and the Greek colonies of the African shore, was 
another severe blow to Greek interests and Greek independence. 
The naval armaments of all these maritime countries were now sub- 
ject to the orders of the Persian despot, and were ready to be turned 
against those of the Greeks who still were free. 

210. Destruction of the Sea Power of Polycrates in the iSEgean 
(522 B.C.). But it was the extension of the Persian authority in the 
West that most intimately concerned the Greek world. The year 
preceding the accession of Darius I to the Persian throne had wit- 
nessed the fall of Polycrates (sect. 192) and the virtual destruction of 
his maritime empire in the ^gean. 

The dominion of Polycrates was scarcely more, it is true, than 
a piratical sea power; yet it was a Greek state, and might have 
proved, in the critical time fast approaching, an effectual barrier 
in {he -^Egean against the barbarian wave of conquest which now 
threatened to overwhelm with irretrievable ruin even the cities of 
European Greece. 

211. The Scythian Expedition of Darius I; Conquests in Europe 
(513 ? B.C.). The growing anxiety of the Greeks in the homeland 
was intensified by the passage of the Bosphorus, about the year 
513 B.C., by an immense Persian army led by Darius in person, 
whose purpose was the subjection of Thrace and the chastisement 
of the Scythians, old foes of the Asian peoples, inhabiting the lands 
north of the Lower Danube and the bleak steppes which comprise 
South Russia of to-day. 

The outcome of this expedition was the addition of both Thrace 
and Macedonia, together with important islands in the northern 
JEgean, to the Persian Empire, and the advance of its western 
frontier to the passes of the mountains which guard Greece on 
the north. 



I90 HELLAS AND THE RISE OF PERSIA [§212 

The greater part of the shores of the JEgean was now in the pos- 
session of the Great King.^ That sea which had so long been the 
special arena of Greek activity and Greek achievement had become 
practically a Persian lake. Moreover, through the loss of the Helles- 
pontine regions the Greeks were cut off from the Euxine, which had 
come to be such an important part of the Hellenic world. 

212. The Rise of the Persian Power in the East Synchronizes with 
the Rise of the Power of Carthage in the West. At the same time 
that the Greeks of the eastern Mediterranean were thus falling under 
the yoke of the Persians, and the liberty of the cities in the home- 
land was being threatened with extinction, the Greeks in Sicily were 
being hard pressed by another barbarian people, the Phoenicians. 
The power of Carthage was rising, and the Greek cities of Sicily 
were just now engaging in a doubtful contest with her for the pos- 
session of the island. Thus all round the horizon threatening clouds 
were darkening the once bright prospects of the Hellenic world. 

It was, indeed, a critical moment in the history of the Greek race. 
As Ranke says, "It cannot be denied that the energetic Greek world 
was in danger of being crushed in the course of its vigorous 
development." 

Selections from the Sources. Herodotus, i, 152, 153; iv, 137 (will afford 
a glimpse into the thought of the times). Thallon's Readings, pp. 147-154. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 135-193- Grote (ten-volume 
ed.), vol. iii, pp. 399-491. Holm, vol. i, chap, xxiii. Oman, History of Greece, 
pp. 1 18-140. Cox, The Greeks and Persians, chap. iii. BuRY, History of 
Greece, pp. 229-241. HARRISON, Story of Greece, chap, xx, pp. 220-228. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Culture of the Asiatic Greeks : Holm, vol. i, 
chap, xxiv, " Growth of Greek Philosophy, Literature, and Art in Asia Minor." 
2. The sea power of Polycrates and its end: Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 160-172. 

1 Consult map after p. 98. 




CHAPTER XIX 

THE PERSIAN WARS 

(500-479 B.C.) 

213. The Beginning of the Ionian Revolt (500 B.C.) ; the Burning 
of Sardis (499 B.C.). The Greek cities reduced to servitude by Persia 
could neither long nor quietly endure the loss of their independence. 
In the year 500 b.c. Ionia became the center of a widespread rebellion 
against the Great King. 

The Athenians sent twenty ships to the aid of their Ionian kins- 
men.^ Sardis was taken and laid in ashes. Defeated in battle, the 
Athenians, thoroughly disheartened, forsook their Ionian confederates 
and sailed back to Athens. 

This unfortunate expedition was destined to have tremendous con- 
sequences. The Athenians had not only burned Sardis, but " had set 
the whole world on fire." When the news of the affair reached Darius 
at Susa, he asked, Herodotus tells us, who the Athenians were, and 
being informed, called for his bow, and placing an arrow on the 
string, shot upward into the sky, saying as he let fly the shaft, 
" Grant, O Zeus, that I may have vengeance on the Athenians." 
After this speech, he bade one of his servants every day when his 
dinner was spread to repeat to him three times these words : " Master, 
remember the Athenians." 

214. Spread of the Rebellion ; the Fall of Miletus (494 B.C.). De- 
serted by the Athenians, the only course left to the lonians was to 
draw as many cities as possible into the revolt. In this they had great 



1 The Eretrians of Euboea joined the Athenians with five triremes. 
191 



192 THE PERSIAN WARS [§215 

success. The movement became widespread and threatened the 
destruction of the Persian power in all those regions where its 
yoke had been laid upon the neck of once free Hellenes. 

The military sources of the Great King were now collected for 
the suppression of the formidable rebellion. The Persian land and 
sea forces closed in around Miletus. After a long siege the city 
was taken. Most of the men were slain, and the women and children 
were transported beyond the Euphrates. 

The cruel fate of Miletus stirred deeply the feelings of the Athe- 
nijKis. When, the year following the fall of the city, there was pre- 
sented in the theater at Athens a drama entitled the Capture of 
Miletus, the people were moved to tears, and afterwards fined the 
author " for recalling to them their own misfortune." They also 
made a law forbidding the presentation of the piece again. 

The remaining cities of Ionia shared the fate of Miletus. They 
were sacked and destroyed, and the fairest of the boys and maidens 
were carried off for the service of the Great King. Also all the Greek 
cities on the European side of the Hellespont were taken and burned, 
and several important islands in the northern ^gean were harried. 

The first serious attempt of the enslaved Greeks to recover their 
lost freedom was thus suppressed. The eastern half of the Greek 
world, filled with the ruins of once flourishing cities, and bearing 
everywhere the cruel marks of barbarian warfare, lay again in vas- 
salage to the Great King. " The mijd Ionian heavens did their part 
to heal the wounds : the waste places were again in time built upon, 
and cities, such as Ephesus, bloomed again in great prosperity ; but 
as to a history of Ionia, that was for all time past." -^ 

215. The First Expedition of Darius against Greece (492 B.C.). 
With the Ionian revolt crushed and punished, Darius determined to 
forestall all further trouble from the European Greeks by incor- 
porating Greece in the Persian Empire. Accordingly he sent heralds 
to the various Greek states to demand earth and water, the Persian 
symbols of submission.'^ The weaker states gave the tokens required ; 

1 Curtius, Griechische Geschichte (6th ed.), vol. i, p. 629. 

2 We follow Eduard Meyer in bringing this embassy into connection with the 
expedition of 492 B.C. instead of that of 490 B.C. Meyer believes Herodotus (vi, 48) 
is wrong in connecting it with the second expedition. 



§216] THE SECOND EXPEDITION OF DARIUS 193 

but the Athenians and Spartans threw the envoys of the king into 
pits and wells and bade them help themselves to earth and water. 

A large land and naval armament was now fitted out and placed 
under the command of Mardonius, the son-in-law of Darius, for the 
subjugation of the cities that had not only refused to comply with 
the demand for earth and water, but had further violated the sanedty 
of ambassadors. The expedition was unfortunate. The land forces 
suffered severe losses at the hands of the barbarians of Thrace, and 
the fleet was wrecked by a violent storm off Mt. Athos (492 B.C.). 

216. The Second Expedition of Darius (490 B.C.). Undismayed by 
this disaster, Darius issued orders for the raising and equipping of 
another and stronger armament. By the opening of the year 490 b:.c. 
an army had been mustered for the second attempt upon Greece.-^ 
This armament was entrusted to the command of the experienced 
generals Datis and Artaphernes, but was under the guidance of the 
traitor Hippias (sect. 206). Transports bore the army from the coasts 
of Asia Minor over the ^gean towards the Grecian shores. 

After receiving the submission of the most important of the Cyc- 
lades, and capturing and sacking the city of Eretria upon the island 
of Euboea, the Persians landed at Marathon, barely one day's journey 
from Athens. Here is a sheltered bay, which is edged by a crescent- 
shaped plain backed by the rugged ranges of Pames and Pentelicus. 
Upon this level ground the Persian generals, acting upon the advice 
of Hippias, drew up their army, flushed and confident with their 
recent successes. 

217. The Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). The Athenians made sur- 
passing efforts to avert from their city the impending destruction. 
Instead of awaiting behind their walls the coming of the Persians, 
they decided to offer them battle in the open field at Marathon. 
Accordingly they marched out ten thousand strong. 

While the Athenians were getting ready for the fight, a fleet run- 
ner, Phidippides by name, was hurrying with a message to Sparta 
for aid. The practical value of the athletic training of the Greeks 

1 It is impossible to reach any certainty as to the size of the Persian army. The 
lowest figures given by any ancient authority is 210,000, while the estimates of modem 
military experts and historians vary from 200,000 to 20,000. This last number is the 
estimate of Eduard Meyer. 

EN 



194 



THE PERSIAN WARS 



[§217 



was now shown. In just thirty-six hours Phidippides was in Sparta, 
which is one hundred and thirty-five or forty miles from Athens. 
Now it so happened that it lacked a few days of the full of the 
moon, during which interval the Spartans, owing to an old super- 
stition, dared not set out upon a military expedition.^ Nevertheless, 
they promised aid, but marched from Sparta only in time to reach 
Athens after all was over. 

The Plataeans, however, firm and grateful friends of the Athenians 
on account of the protection accorded them by Athens against* the 




Plan of the Battle of Marathon 



Thebans, no sooner had received their appeal for help than they 
responded to a man, and joined them at Marathon with a thousand 
heavy-armed soldiers. 

The Athenians and their faithful allies took up their position just 
where the hills of Pentelicus sink into the plain of Marathon, thus 
covering the road to Athens. The Persian. army occupied the low 

ground in their front, while the transports. covered the beach behind. 

♦ 

1 Such is the reason assigned by Herodotus (vi, io6) for their delay. Modem his- 
torians are divided in opinion as to whether ornot the alleged excuse was anything more 
than a subterfuge. We shall be less likely to regard it as a mere pretext, if we recall that 
even an Athenian general, in the very heyday of Athens' intellectual life, acted on a like 
superstition to his own tragic undoing and that of his city (sect. 261). 



§21S] RESULTS OF THE BATTLE OF MARATHON 195 

After a delay of a few days the battle was begun by the Greeks 
suddenly charging down upon the enemy's lines. These being broken 
and thrown into disorder by the onset, the Persians were driven 
with great slaughter to their ships. 

A legend of later origin tells how straightway after the battle, 
Miltiades, the Athenian general who was in supreme command, 
dispatched a courier to take news of the victory to Athens. The 
messenger reached the city in a few hours, but so exhausted that, 
as thie people pressed around him to hear the news he bore, " he 
breathed forth his life " with the words in which he announced 
the victory.^ 

But the danger was not yet over. The Persians, instead of return- 
ing to the coast of Asia, sailed round to Athens, thinking to take the 
city before the Athenian army could return from Marathon. Miltiades, 
however, informed by watchers on the hills of the movements of the 
enemy, straightway set out with his little army for the capital, which 
he reached just at evening, probably on the day following the fight 
at Marathon. The next morning when the Persian generals would 
have made an attack upon Athens, they found themselves confronted 
by the same men who had beaten them back from the Marathon 
shore. Shrinking from another encounter with these citizen soldiers, 
the Persians spread their sails and bore away for the Ionian shore. 

Thus the cloud that had lowered so threateningly over Hellas was 
for a time dissipated. The most imposing honors were accorded to 
the heroes who had achieved the glorious victory, and their names 
and deeds were transmitted to posterity in song and marble. The 
bodies of the one hundred and ninety-two Athenians who had fallen 
were buried on the field, and an enormous mound of earth was raised 
over them.^ 

218. Results of the Battle of Marathon. The battle of Marathon 
is justly reckoned as one of the " decisive battles of the world." It 
marks a turning point in the history of humanity. The battle decided 
that no longer the despotism of the East, with its repression of all 
individual action, but the freedom of the West, with all its incentives 

1 The modem " Marathon race " owes its origin to this picturesque storj-. 

2 Herodotus makes the loss of the Persians 6400. 



196 THE PERSIAN WARS [§219 

to personal effort, should mark the future centuries of history. The 
tradition of the fight forms the prelude of the story of human freedom. 

Again, by the victory Hellenic civilization was saved to mature its 
fruit, not for Hellas alone but for the world. We cannot conceive 
what European civilization would be like without those rich and vital- 
izing elements contributed to it by the Greek, and especially by 
the Athenian, genius. But the germs of all these might have been 
smothered and destroyed had the barbarians won the day at Mara- 
thon. Ancient Greece, as a satrapy of the Persian Empire, would 
certainly have become what modem Greece became as a province 
of the empire of the Ottoman Turks. 

Moreover, the overwhelming defeat which the handful of Athenian 
freemen had inflicted upon the hitherto invincible army of the Great 
King broke the spell of the Persian name and destroyed forever the 
prestige of the Persian arms. The victory gave the Hellenic peoples 
that position of authority and preeminence that had been so long 
held by the successive races of the East. 

The great achievement further especially revealed the Athenians 
to themselves. The consciousness of resources and power* became 
the inspiration of their after deeds. They did great things thereafter 
because they believed themselves able to do them. From the battle 
of Marathon dates the beginning of the great days of imperial Athens. 

219. Themistocles and his Naval Policy. At this time there came 
prominently forward at Athens a man whose genius, aided by favor- 
ing circumstances, was to create the naval greatness of the Athenian 
state. This was Themistocles, a sagacious, farsighted, versatile states- 
man, who, in his own words, though '' he knew nothing of music and 
song, did know how of a small city to make a great one." He was 
an ambitious man, whom " the trophies of Miltiades robbed of sleep." 

While many among the Athenians were inclined to bejieve that 
the battle of Marathon had freed Athens forever from the danger 
of another Persian attack, Themistocles was clear-sighted enough to 
perceive that that battle was only the beginning of a tremendous 
struggle between Hellas and Persia, and the signal for still another 
and more formidable invasion of Greece by the barbarians. Hence 
he labored incessantly to persuade the Athenians to strengthen their 



220] 



OSTRACISM OF ARISTIDES 



197 



navy, which they had begun to build after the fall of Miletus, as the 
only reliable defense of Hellas against subjection to the Persian power. 
220. Aristides Opposes the Policy of Themistocles and is Ostracized 
(483 B.C.). Themistocles was opposed in this policy by Aristides, called 
the Just, a man of the most scrupulous integrity, who feared that 
Athens would make a serious mistake if she converted her land force 
into a naval armament. This seemed to him a wide departure from 
the traditions of the fathers. The contention grew so sharp between 
the two that ostracism was called into use to decide the matter. Six 
thousand votes were cast against Aristides, and he was sent into exile. 




Fig. ioi. Ostrakon with Nam»of Themistocles. (British Museum) 

This recently discovered ostrakon (potsherd) is probably one that was cast against 
Themistocles at the time Aristides was ostracized 



It is related that while the vote that ostracized him was being taken 
in the assembly, an illiterate peasant, who was a stranger to Aristides, 
asked him to write the name of Aristides upon his tablet. As he 
placed the name upon the shell, the statesman asked the man what 
wrong Aristides had ever done him. "None," replied the voter; "I do 
not even know him ; but I am tired of hearing him called the Just." 

After the banishment of Aristides, Themistocles was free to carry 
out his naval policy, and soon Athens had the largest fleet of any 
Greek city, with a splendid harbor at Piraeus.^ These ships, as we 
shall learn soon, were the salvation of Athens and of Greece. 

1 Circumstances happily concurred in the advancement of Themistocles' plans. Just 
at this time there was a large sum of money in the treasury of the city, which had been 
derived from the public silver mines at Laurium, in the southeastern part of Attica. This 
money was about to be divided among the citizens ; Themistocles persuaded them to 
devote it to the building of warships. 



igS THE PERSIAN WARS [§221 

221. Xerxes' Preparations to Invade Greece. No sooner had the 
news of the disaster at Marathon been carried to Darius than he 
began to make gigantic preparations to avenge this second defeat 
and humiliation. But in the midst of these plans for the punishment 
of the presumptuous Greeks his reign was cut short by death, and 
his son Xerxes came to the throne. 

Urged on by his nobles as well as by exiled Greeks at his court, 
who sought to gratify ambition or enjoy revenge in the humiliation 
and ruin of their native land, Xerxes, though at first disinclined to 
enter into a contest with the Greeks, at length ordered the prepara- 
tions begun by his father to be pushed forward with the utmost energy. 
For eight years all Asia was astir with the work of preparation. Levies 
were made upon all the provinces that acknowledged the authority of 
the Great King, from India to Macedonia, from the regions of the 
Oxus to those of the Upper Nile. From all the maritime states upon 
the Mediterranean were demanded vast contingents of war galleys, 
transport ships, and naval stores. 

While these land and sea forces were being gathered and equipped, 
gigantic works were in progre'ss on the Thracian coast and on the 
Hellespont to insure the safety and facilitate the march of the coming 
hosts. It will be recalled that the expedition of Mardonius was ruined 
by the destruction of his fleet in rounding the promontory of Mount 
Athos (sect. 215). That the warships and transports of the present 
armament, upon the safety of which the success of his undertaking 
so wholly depended, might not be exposed to the dangers of a 
passage around this projecting tongue of land, Xerxes determined 
to dig a canal across the neck of the isthmus. This great work 
consumed three years. Traces of the cutting may be seen to-day. 

At the same time that the canal at Mount Athos was being 
excavated, a still more gigantic work was in progress upon the 
Hellespont. Here Europe was being bound to Asia by a double 
bridge of boats, probably at a point where the strait is about 
one and a half miles in width. This work was in the hands of 
Egyptian and Phoenician artisans. 

By the spring of the year 481 B.C. the preparations for the 
long-talked-of expedition were about completed, and in the fall 



§222] DISUNION OF THE GREEKS 199 

of that year we find Xerxes upon his way to Sardis, which had 
been selected as the rendezvous of the contingents of the great 
army of invasion. 

Just as Xerxes was about to march from Sardis, news was 
brought to him that the bridges across the Hellespont had been 
broken by a violent storm. Herodotus relates that Xerxes was 
thrown into a great passion by this intelligence, and ordered the 
architects of the bridges to be put to death and the Hellespont 
to be scourged with three hundred lashes. The scourgers carried 
out obediently the orders of their master, and as they lashed the 
traitorous and rebellious waters cursed them " in non-Hellenic and 
blasphemous words." 

222. Disunion of the Greeks ; Congress at Corinth (481 B.C.). 
Startling rumors of the gigantic preparations that the Persian king 
was making to crush them were constantly borne across the ^gean 
to the ears of the Greeks in Europe. Finally came intelligence 
that Xerxes was about to begin his march. Something must now 
be done to meet the impending danger. Mainly through the exer- 
tions of Themistocles, a council of the Greek cities was convened 
at Corinth in the fall of 481 B.C. 

But on account of feuds, jealousies, and party spirit, only a small 
number of the states of Hellas could be brought to unite their 
resources against the barbarians ; and even the strength of the cities 
that entered into the alliance was divided by party spirit. The friends 
of aristocratic government were almost invariably friends of Persia, 
because the Persian king looked with more favor upon aristocratic 
than democratic government in his subject Greek cities. Thus, for 
the sake of a party victory, the oligarchs were ready to betray their 
countr)'^ into the hands of the barbarians. 

Furthermore, the Delphian oracle was wanting in courage, — to 
the managers of the shrine the situation doubtless looked desperate, 
— and by its timid responses disheartened the patriot party. But 
under the inspiration of Themistocles the patriots in convention at 
Corinth determined upon stout resistance to the barbarians. It 
was at first decided to concentrate a strong force in the Vale of 
Tempe, and at that point to dispute the advance of the enemy ; but 



200 



THE PERSIAN WARS 



[§223 



this place having been found untenable, the first stand against the 
invaders was made at the Pass of Thermopylae. 

The Spartans were given the chief command of both the land 
and the naval forces. The Athenians might fairly have insisted upon 
their right to the command of the allied fleet, but they patriotically 
waived their claim for the sake of harmony. 

223. The Passage of the Hellespont. With the first indications 
of the opening spring of 480 B.C., just ten years after the defeat at 




Map Illustrating the Invasion of Greece by Xerxes 



Marathon, the vast Persian army was astir and concentrating from 
all points upon the Hellespont. The passage of this strait, as pictured 
to us in the inimitable narration of Herodotus, is one of the most 
dramatic of all the spectacles afforded by history. Herodotus affirms, 
with exaggeration doubtless, that for seven days and seven nights the 
bridges groaned beneath the living tide that Asia was pouring into 
Europe. 

Upon an extended plain called Doriscus, on the European shore, 
Xerxes drew up his vast army for review and census. The count 



§224] THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYL^ 201 

completed/ the immense army, attended along the shore by the fleet, 
marched forward through Thrace, and so on toward Greece. 

224. The Battle of Thermopylae (480 B.C.). Leading from Thessaly 
into Central Greece is a narrow pass, pressed on one side by the sea 
and on the other by rugged mountain ridges. At the foot of the 
cliffs break forth several hot springs, whence the name of the pass, 
Thermopylae (Hot Gates). 

At this point, in accordance with the decision of the Corinthian 
congress, was offered the first resistance to the progress of the 
Persian army. Leonidas, king of Sparta, with three hundred Spartan 
soldiers and about six thousand allies from different states, held the 
pass. As the Greeks were about to celebrate certain festivals which 
fell at just this time, and as no one thought that the fight at the pass 
would be decided so quickly as it actually was, this handful of men 
was left unsupported to hold in check the army of Xerxes until the 
festival days were over.^ 

The Spartans could be driven from their advantageous position 
only by an attack in front, as the Grecian fleet prevented Xerxes 
from landing a force in their rear. Before assaulting them, Xerxes 
summoned them to give up their arms. The answer of Leonidas 
was, " Come and take them." For two days the Persians tried to 
storm the pass. But every attempt to force the way was repulsed ; 
even the Ten Thousand Immortals,^ the royal bodyguard, were hurled 
back from the Spartan front like waves from a cliff. 

1 According to Herodotus, the land and naval forces of Xerxes amounted to 
2,317,000 men, besides about 2,000,000 slaves and attendants. It is certain that these 
figures are a great exaggeration. Widely different e'Stimates have been made by modem 
historians. Eduard Meyer puts the land forces at 100,000 and the naval forces at 150,000 
to 200,000. These numbers take no account of camp followers. For a scholarly discus- 
sion of the question, see The Classical Jottmal, vol. x (1914-1915), a paper entitled 
" Thoughts on the Reliability of the Classical Writers, with Special Reference to the 
Size of the Army of Xerxes," by Dr. John A. Scott. 

2 This is the explanation of the conduct of the allies given by Herodotus (vii, 206). 
Modem critics are inclined to the opinion that the plea of the Spartans respecting the 
obser\'ation of the festival days was a mere pretext, and that the real reason they and 
the other Peloponnesians — on whom the duty of providing the land forces chiefly rested, 
since the Athenians were on the water — did not send a larger force to the pass was be- 
cause it was their selfish policy to m.okc the real stand against the enemy at the Isthmus. 

8 This body of picked soldiers was so called because its number was always kept up 
to ten thousand. 



202 THE PERSIAN WARS [§225 

But an act of treachery on the part of a native Greek, Ephialtes 
by name, " the Judas of Greece," rendered unavailing all the bravery 
of the keepers of the pass. This man, hoping for a large reward, re- 
vealed to Xerxes a bypath leading over the mountain to the rear of 
the Greeks. The startling intelligence was brought to Leonidas that 
the Persians were descending the mountain path in his rear. Realizing 
that the pass could no longer be held, the most of the allies now with- 
drew from the place while opportunity still remained ; but for Leonidas 
and his Spartan companions there could be no thought of retreat. 
Death in the pass, the defense of which had been intrusted to them, 
was all that Spartan honor and Spartan law now left them. The next 
day, surrounded by the Persian host, they fought with desperate valor; 
but, overwhelmed by mere numbers, they were slain to the last man. 
With them also perished seven hundred Thespians who had chosen 
death with their companions. 

'I'he fight at Thermopykc echoed through all the after centuries of 
Grecian history. The Greeks felt that all Hellas had gained great 
glory on that day when Tconidas and his companions fell, and they 
gave them a chief place among their national heroes. Memorial pillars 
marked for coming generations the sacred spot, while praising inscrip- 
tions and epitaphs told in brief phrases the story of the battle. Among 
these was an inscription in special memory of the Spartans who 
had fallen, which, commemorating at once Spartan law and Spartan 
valor, read, " Stranger, go tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here in 
obedience to their commands I " ^ 

225. The Athenians Abandon their City and Betake Themselves to 
their Ships. Athens now lay open to the invaders. The Peloponnfe- 
sians, thinking first of their own safety, commenced throwing up 
defenses across the Lsthmus of Corinth. Athens was thus left 
outside to care for herself. 

Counsels were now divided. The Delphian oracle had obscurely 

1 While Leonidas and his men were striving to hold the pass, the Greek fleet, 
stationed at Artemisium at the head of the island of Euboea, was endeavoring to 
prevent the Persian fleet from entering the strait between the island and the mainland. 
Here for three days the Greeks fought the Persian ships (the battle of Artemisium), 
and then, upon receipt of the news that the pass was lost, retreated down the Eubcean 
Straits, and came to anchor in the gulf of ijalamis, near Athens. 



§226] THK NAVAL BATTLK OI' SALAMIS 203 

declared, "' When everything else in the land of Cecrops shall be 
taken, Zeus grants to yVthena that the woodcji walls alone shall 
remain unconquered, to defend you and your children." The oracle 
was believed to be, as was declared, "firm as adamant." 

But there were various opinions as to what was meant by the 
"wooden walls." Some thought the Pythian priestess directed the 
Athenians to seek refuge in the forests on the mountains ; others, 
that the oracle meant that they should defend the Acropolis, which 
in ancient times had been surrounded with a wooden palisade; but 
Themistocles (who, it is thought, may have himself promi)ted the 
oracle) contended that the ships were plainly indicated. 

The last interpretation was acted upon. All the soldiers of Attica 
were crowded upon the vessels of the fleet at Salamis. The aged 
men, with the women and children, were carried out of the country 
to different places of safety. All the towns of Attica, with the capital, 
were thus abandoned to the conquerors. A few days afterwards the 
Persians entered upon the deserted plain, which they rendered more 
desolate by ravaging the fields and burning the empty towns. Athens 
shared the common fate, and her temples sank in flames. 

226. The Naval Battle of Salamis (480 B.C.). Just off the coast of 
Attica, separated from the mainland by a narrow passage of water, 
lies the island of Salamis. Here lay the (Ireek fleet, awaiting the 
Persian attack. To hasten on the attack before dissensions should 
divide the Greek forces, Themistocles resorted to the following strata- 
gem. He sent a messenger to Xerxes representing that he himself 
was ready to espouse the Persian cause, and advised an immediate 
attack on the allied fleet, which he represented as being in no condi- 
tion to make any formidable resistance. Xerxes was deceived. He 
ordered an immediate attack. P'rom a lofty throne upon the shore 
he himself overlooked the scene and watched the result. The Persian 
fleet was broken to pieces and two hundred of the ships destroyed.^ 

The blow was decisive. Xerxes, fearing that treachery might burn 
or break the Hellespontine bridges, instantly dispatched a hundred 
ships to protect them ; and then, leaving Mardonius with a large 

1 The entire Persian fleet numbered about 750 vessels ; the (irecian, about 380 ships, 
mostly triremes. 



204 



THE PERSIAN WARS 



[§227 



force to retrieve the disaster of Salamis, and effect, as he promised 
to do, the conquest of the rest of Greece, the monarch with a strong 
escort made an ignominious retreat into Asia. 

227. Mardonius Tries to Bribe the Athenians ; the Battle of Plataea 
(479 B.C.). With the opening of the spring of 479 b.c. Mardonius 
sent an embassy to Athens, promising the Athenians many things 
provided they would come over to the Persian side. The Athenians' 
reply was, " While the sun holds his course in the heavens, we will 




Athens and Salamis 

never form a league with the Persian king." Upon receiving this 
answer Mardonius, breaking up his camp in Thessaly, marched south, 
and, after ravaging Attica anew, withdrew into Boeotia. Here the 
Greeks confronted him with the largest army they had ever gathered.^ 
In the battle which followed (the battle of Plataea), Mardonius was 
slain and his army with great losses was put to flight. 

228. The Battle of Mycale (479 B.C.). Upon the same day, tradi- 
tion says, that the Greeks won the victory at Plataea they gained 
another over a Persian land and sea force at Cape Mycale in Ionia. 



1 Estimates of the number vary from 110,000 to 70,000. "the Spartan Pausanias was 
in chief command. 



§229] 



MEMORIALS OF THE WAR 



205 



This victory at Mycale was a fitting sequel to the one at Plataea : 
that had freed European Greece from the presence of the barbarians ; 
this, in the phrase of Herodotus, " restored to Grecian freedom 
the Hellespont and the islands." For straightway Samos, Chios, 
Lesbos, and other islands of the ^gean that had been in vassalage 
to Persia were now liberated, and received as members into the con- 
federacy of the patriot states of the mother land.^ 

229. Memorials and Trophies of the War. The glorious issue of 
the war caused a general burst of joy and exultation throughout 
Greece. Poets, artists, and orators 
all vied with one another in com- 
memorating the deeds of the heroes 
whose valor had warded off the im- 
pending danger. The poet Simon- 
ides ^ composed immortal couplets 
for the monuments of the fallen 
heroes of Thermopylae and Salamis ; 
the dramatist yEschylus, who had 
fought at Marathon and perhaps 
at Salamis and Plataea, erected an 
eternal monument in literature in 
his Persians^ which, eight years 

after the battle, was presented at Athens before twenty thousand 
spectators, many of whom had had part in the fight ; and the great 
artist Polygnotus painted on the walls of a public porch at Athens 
the battle of Marathon. In truth, the great literature and art of the 
golden age of Athens were an imperishable memorial of the war. 

Nor did the pious Greeks think that the marvelous deliverance 
had been effected without the intervention of the gods in their behalf. 
"A god," sang Pindar, "hath turned away the Tantalus stone hanging 
over Hellas." Upon the Acropolis at Athens was erected a colossal 




Fig. 102. HoPLiTE, or Heavy- 
armed Greek Warrior 



1 On the very day of the battle of Salamis, according to tradition, Gelo, tyrant of 
Syracuse, gained a great victory in Sicily over the Carthaginians, who had arranged 
with Xerxes to attack the Greeks in the West at the same time that the Persians made 
their attack in the East. So that was a memorable day for Hellas. 

2 Simoni4es of Ceos (556-467 B.C.). 

8 This is the only Greek drama preserved to us which deals with contem[)orary history. 



2o6 



THE PERSIAN WARS 



[§229 



statue of Athena, made from the brazen arms gathered from the field 
at Marathon, while within the sanctuary of the goddess were placed 
the broken cables of the Hellespontine bridges, 
at once a proud trophy of victory and a signal 
illustration of the divine punishment that had 
befallen the audacious and impious attempt 
to lay a yoke upon the sacred waters of the 
Hellespont. 

Lastly, to Apollo at Delphi was gratefully 
consecrated a tenth of the immense spoils from 
the field of Plataea. The gift was in the form 
of a golden tripod set on a bronze pedestal of 
twisted snakes. Upon the base of the support 
were inscribed the names of all the cities and 
states which had taken part in the war. Eight 
centuries after it was set up, this pedestal was 
carried off to Constantinople, probably by the 
Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and 
there it stands to-day (Fig. 112). 




Selections from the Sources, ^schylus, The 
Persians (an historical drama which celebrates the 
victory of Salamis). Herodotus, v, 49-54 (Aris- 
tagoras pleads before Cleomenes). Plutarch, The- 
7)iistocles and Aristides. Thallon's Readings, pp. 1 54- 
227 ; Davis's Readings (Greece), pp. 130-198; Fling's 
Source Book, pp. 98- 143. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 201- 
352. Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. iii, pp. 492-521 ; 
vol. iv, pp. 1-294. Abbott, vol. ii, chaps, i-v. Holm, 
vol. ii, chaps, i— vi. Cox, The Greeks and the Persiatis. 
Creasy, Decisive Battles of the World, chap, i, " The Battle of Marathon." 
Church, Pictures from Greek Life and Story, chaps, iii-viii (for youthful 
readers). Teachers will find valuable topographical material in Grundy, The 
Great Persian War. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The Delphic oracle given the Athenians at 
the beginning of the Persian War: Herodotus, vii, 140-143. 2. The trireme: 
Gulick, The Life of the Ancietit Greeks, chap, xv, pp. 199-205. 3. Themistocles 
in council and in battle at Salamis : Plutarch, Themistocles, xi-xv. 



Fig. 103. A Memorial 

OF THE Battle of 

Plat.-ea 

The bronze pedestal, pre- 
served at Constantino- 
ple, that supported the 
golden tripod dedicated 
to the Delphic Apollo 



CHAPTER XX 

THE MAKING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 

(479-445 B.C.) 

230. The Rebuilding of Athens ; the Fortifications of the Piraeus 
(478-477 B.C.). After the battle of Platsea and the expulsion of the 
barbarians from Greece, the Athenians who had found an asylum at 
Salamis, ^gina, and other places returned to Athens. They found 
only a heap of ruins where their city had once stood. Under the lead 
of Themistocles, the people with admirable spirit set themselves to 
the task of rebuilding their homes and erecting new walls. 

The rival states of the Peloponnesian League watched the pro- 
ceedings of the Athenians with the most jealous interest. The 
Spartans sent an embassy to dissuade them from rebuilding their 
walls, hypocritically assigning as the ground of their interest in the 
matter their fear lest, in case of another Persian invasion, the city, 
if captured, should become a stronghold for the enemy. But the 
Athenians persisted in their purpose, and soon had raised the wall 
to such a height that they could defy interference. 

At the same time that the work of restoration was going on 
at Athens, the fortifications at Piraeus were being enlarged and 
strengthened. That Athens' supremacy depended upon control of 
the sea had now become plain to all. Consequently the haven town 
was surrounded with walls even surpassing in strength the new walls 
of the upper city. The Piraeus soon grew into a bustling commercial 
city, one of the chief centers of trade' in the Hellenic world.^ 

1 A few years after this Themistocles fell into disfavor and was ostracized (471 b. c). 
He finally bent his steps to Susa, the Persian capital. King Artaxerxes appointed him 
governor of Magnesia in Asia Minor and made provision for his wants by assigning 
to three cities the duty of providing for liis table : one was to furnish bread, a second 
wine, and a third meat. Plutarch relates that one day as the exile sat down to his richly 
loaded board he exclaimed, " How much we should have lost, my children, if we had 
not been ruined I " He died probably about 460 i;. c. 

207 



208 THE MAKING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE [§ 231 

231. The Formation of the Confederacy of Delos (477 B.C.). Soon 
after the battle of Mycale the Ionian states, in order that they might 
be able to carry on more effectively the work to which they had set 
their hands, namely, the liberating of the Greek cities yet in the 
power of the Persians, formed a league known as the Confederacy 
of Delos. Sparta and her Peloponnesian allies were excluded from 
the league on account of the treachery of the Spartan Pausanias, 
who had been in command of the allied fleet. All the Asian cities of 
Ionia and yEolis, almost all the island towns of the ^gean, the cities 
of Chalcidice, together with those just set free along the Hellespont 
and the Bosphorus, became members of the alliance. The league was 
a free association of independent and equal states, about two hun- 
dred and sixty in number. Athens was to be the head of the con- 
federacy. Aristides was chosen as the first president. Matters of 
common concern were to be in the hands of a congress convened 
yearly in the sacred island of Delos and composed of delegates from 
all the cities. 

At Delos, also, in the temple of Apollo, was to be kept the 
common treasure chest, to which each state was to make contri- 
bution according to its ability. What proportion of the ships and 
money should be contributed by the several states for carrying out 
the purposes of the union was left at first entirely to the decision of 
Aristides, such was the confidence all possessed in his fairness and 
incorruptible integrity ; and so long as he retained control of the 
matter, none of the allies ever had cause for complaint. 

The formation of this Delian League constitutes a prominent land- 
mark in Grecian history. Jt meant not simply the transfer from 
Sparta to Athens of leadership in the maritime affairs of Hellas. 
It meant that all the promises of Panhellenic union in the great 
alliance formed at Corinth in 481 B.C. had come to naught. It 
meant, since the Peloponnesian Confederacy still continued to exist, 
that henceforth Hellas was to be a house divided against itself. 

232. The Athenians Convert the Delian League into an Empire. 
The Confederacy of Delos laid the basis of the imperial power of 
Athens. The Athenians misused their authority as leaders of the 
league, and gradually, during the interval between the formation of 



§232] DELIAN LEAGUE BECOMES AN EMPIRE 209 

the union and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, reduced their 
allies to the condition of tributaries and subjects. 

Athens transformed the league into an empire in the following 
manner. The contributions assessed by Aristides upon the different 
members of the confederation consisted of ships for the larger states 
and of money payments for the smaller ones. From the first, Athens 
attended to this assessment matter, and saw to it that each member 
of the league made its proper contribution. 

After a wlple, some of the cities preferring to make a money pay- 
ment in lieu of ships, Athens accepted the commutation, and then, 
building the ships herself, added them to her own navy. Thus the 
confederates disarmed themselves and armed their master. 

Very soon the restraints which Athens imposed upon her allies 
became irksome, and they began to refuse, one after another, to pay 
the assessment in any form. Naxos, one of the Cyclades, was the 
first, island to secede from the league (466 B.C.). But Athens had 
no idea of admitting any such doctrine of state rights, and with her 
powerful navy forced the Naxians to remain within the union and to 
pay an increased tribute. 

What happened in the case of Naxos happened in the case of 
other members of the confederation. By the year 449 b.c. only 
three of the island members of the league — Lesbos, Chios, and 
Samos — still retained their independence. They alone of all the 
former allies did not pay tribute. 

Even before the date last named (probably about 457 B.C.) the 
Athenians had transferred the common treasury from Delos to 
Athens, and, diverting the tribute from its original purpose, were 
beginning to spend it, not in the prosecution of war against the 
barbarians, but in the carrying on of home enterprises, as though 
the treasure were their own revenue. About this time also the 
congress probably ceased to exist. 

Thus what had been simply a voluntary confederation of sovereign 
and independent cities was converted into what was practically an 
absolute monarchy, with the Attic democracy as the imperial master. 
Thus did Athens become a " tyrant city." From being the liberator 
of the Greek cities she had become their enslaver. 



2IO THE MAKING OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE [§233 

233. Cimon and Pericles. Two of the most prominent of the 
Athenian leaders at this time were Cimon and Pericles. Cimon, 
son of Miltiades, was one of the most successful of the admirals 
to whom, after the expulsion of the Persians from Greece, was 
intrusted the command of the armaments designed to wrest from 
them the islands of the ^gean and the Hellenic cities of the Asiatic 
coast. He was the leader of the aristocratic party at Athens, and 
the friend of Sparta. He was broad-minded, and his policy was the 




Athens and her Long Walls 



maintenance in Greece of a dual hegemony, Sparta being allowed 
leadership on land and Athens leadership on the sea. 

Cimon was opposed by Pericles, who believed that such a double 
leadership was impracticable. The aim of his policy was to make 
Athens supreme not only on the sea but also on the land. The popular- 
ity of Cimon at last declined and he was ostracized. The fall of Cimon 
gave Pericles a free hand in the carrying out of his ambitious policy. 

234. Construction of the Long Walls. As a part of his maritime 
policy, Pericles persuaded the Athenians to push to completion what 
were known as the Long Walls (about 457-455 B.C.), which united 
Athens to the port of Piraeus. By means of these great ramparts 



§235] THE THIRTY YEARS' TRUCE 211 

Athens and her principal port, with the intervening land, were con- 
verted into a vast fortified district, capable in time of war of holding 
the entire population of Attica.^ With her communication with the 
sea thus secured, and with a powerful navy at her command, Athens 
could bid defiance to her foes on sea and land. 

235. Pericles Tries in Vain to Create a Land Empire; the Thirty 
Years' Truce (445 B.C.). At the same time that Pericles was making 
Athens' supremacy by sea more secure, he was endeavoring to build 
up for her a land empire in Central Greece. As Athenian influence 
in this quarter increased, Sparta became more and more jealous, and 
strove to counteract it by enhancing the power of Thebes and by lend- 
ing support to the aristocratic party in the various cities of Bceotia. 

The contest between the two rivals was long and bitter. It was 
ended by what is known as the Peace of Pericles, or the Thirty 
Years' Truce (445 B.C.). By the terms of this treaty each of the 
rival cities was left at the head of the confederation it had formed, 
but neither was to interfere with the other's allies or give aid to its 
revolted subjects. All disputes were to be settled by arbitration. 

The real meaning of the truce was that Athens gave up her am- 
bition to establish a land empire and was henceforth to be content 
with supremacy on the seas. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Aristides and Cimon. Thucyd- 
IDES, i, 90-93 (tells how Themistocles outwitted Sparta). Thallon's Readings, 
pp. 241-268; Fling's Source Book, pp. 144-159. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 353-459- Grote (ten-volume 
ed.), vol. iv, pp. 330-437. Abbott, vol. ii, pp. 243-415. Holm, vol. ii, chaps, vii- 
xiv. Allcroft, The Making of Aikeiis, champs. vm,'x.. OuAtii History of Greece, 
chaps, xxii-xxiv. Bury, History of Greece, chap. viii. Cox, The Athenian 
Empire (earlier chapters) ; and Lives of Athenian Statesmen, " Aristeides," 
" Themistokles," " Pausanias," " Kimon." Greenidge, Handbook of Greek 
Constitutional History, chap, vi, sect. 5. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The walls of Athens and the Piraeus : Bury, 
History of Greece, pp. 330-332, 377. 2. Aristides the Just; his ostracism: 
Harrison, The Story of Greece, pp. 317-321. 3. The treachery of Pausanias: 
Bury, History of Greece, pp. 317-321. 

1 It is probable that Cimon began the work on these defenses. The ramparts were 
built about two hundred feet apart, and were between four and five miles in length. 
They were twelve feet thick and thirty feet high, and were defended by numerous 
towers, which, when Athens became crowded, were used as shops and private dwellings. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE AGE OF PERICLES ^ 

(445-431 B.C.) 

236. General Character of the Period. The fourteen years imme- 
diately following the Thirty Years' Truce are usually designated as 
the Years of Peace. During this period Athens was involved in only 
one short war of note. And not only was there peace throughout 
the empire of Athens, but also throughout the Mediterranean world. 
There was peace between the Eastern Greeks and the Persians, 
as well as between the Western Greeks and the Carthaginians. The 
rising city of Rome, too, was at peace with her neighbors. Thus 
there was peace throughout the world, as happened again four cen- 
turies later in the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus. And as 
that later period of peace marked the Golden Age of Rome, so did 
this earlier era mark the Golden Age of Athens.^ 

The epoch, as we here limit it, embraced less than the lifetime of 
a single generation, yet its influence upon the civilization of the world 
can hardly be overrated. At this time Athens was the center of 
the political, the artistic, and the intellectual life of the Greek world. 
It was a " Hellas in Hellas." During the short period defined, it 
nourished the youth or the maturity of more great men (among them 
the statesman Pericles, the artist Phidias, the historians Herodotus and 
Thucydides, the dramatists Sophocles and Euripides, the philosophers 
Anaxagoras and Socrates — men who belong not to a single people 
but to humanity) than have been nourished in any other period of 
equal length in the history of the world. 

1 This designation is a very elastic one : by it is often meant the whole period 
marked by the influence of Pericles, say from the assassination of the statesman 
Ephialtes in 461 B.C. to the death of Pericles in 429 B.C.; and again it is employed to 
designate the entire period of Athenian ascendancy from the battle of Plataea to the 
outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. 

2 Lloyd, The Age of Pericles^ vol. ii, p. in. 

212 



§237] 



PERICLES 



213 



237. Pericles. Among all the distinguished men of this age 
Pericles stood preeminent. Such was the impression he left upon 
the period that it is called after him the Periclean Age. Pericles was 
a man of illustrious ancestry. Pie possessed a mind of unusual facul- 
ties enriched and refined by culture. As a boy he had seen Athens 
aflame at the time of the Persian invasion, and had felt the thrill and 
uplift of those great days. The trivial and transient things of life did 
not appeal to him. He never at- 
tended banquets, and never took a 
walk in the pleasant gardens and 
groves beyond the city gates, never 
lounged like Socrates in the market- 
place, but walked straight from his 
home to the place of public business. 
He was a friend of the new Ionian 
culture just now becoming dominant 
at Athens, and delighted in the com- 
pany and conversation of men of 
intellect and scholarship.^ He was 
reserved and rarely spoke in the 
Ecclesia, " keeping himself," as Plu- 
tarch, quoting another, says, " like 
the Salaminian trireme, for great 
crises." ^ His lofty and impressive 
eloquence and severe and dignified 
bearing won for him the title of " the 
Olympian." So great was his influ- 
ence that, as Thucydides asserts, under him the Athenian government 
was in name a democracy but in fact an autocracy — the rule of a 
single man. Yet Pericles' authority was simply that which genius 
and character justly confer. He ruled, as Plutarch puts it, by the art 
of persuasion. His throne was the Bema (Fig. 99). 

238. The Demos. The people were at this period the source and 
fountain of all power. The reforms and revolutions of a century and 




Fig. 104. Periclks 



1 Plutarch, Pericles. 

2 The Salaminia was a state trireme used only for important public services. 



214 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§239 

more had finally removed all restraints upon the will of the Demos/ 
and that will was now supreme. Every matter which concerned Athens 
and her empire was discussed and decided by the popular assembly. 
Never before in the history of the world had any people enjoyed 
such unrestricted political, liberty as did the citizens of Athens at this 
time, and never before were any people, through so intimate a knowl- 
edge of public affairs, so well fitted to take part in the administration 
of government. The historian Grote gives as his opinion that the 
average Athenian citizen was better educated politically than the aver- 
age member of the House of Commons in his day.^ As a rule every 
citizen was qualified to hold public office. At all events the Athenians 
acted upon this assumption, as is shown by their extremely democratic 
practice of filling almost all the public offices by the use of the lot. 
Only a very few positions — and these in the army and navy, which 
called for special qualifications — were filled by ballot or open voting. 
239. The Ecclesia. The center of the political life of Athens at this 
time, as at all others under the democracy, was the Ecclesia. There 
is nothing like this body in the v/orld to-day except in some of the 
little Swiss cantons. It was not composed of representatives or dele- 
gates, but of the whole body of Athenian citizens. In the Periclean 
Age all Athenians over eighteen years of age were members. There 
were forty regular meetings during the year, and special meetings 
when there were urgent matters to be considered. The usual attend- 
ance at this period was probably about five thousand ; during the 
Peloponnesian War it was difficult to get together this number. For 
matters of great importance, however, a quorum of six thousand was 
required. The regular place of meeting was, in the fifth century, the 
Pnyx, an open space on a low hill near the Acropolis. At a later time 
the assembly met in the great Theater of Dionysus. Any one, after 
certain officials had spoken, could address the meeting, but citizens ' 
over fifty years of age had the privilege of speaking first. Only such 
measures could be discussed or voted upon as had previously been 
drafted and laid before the meeting by the Council of Five Hundred.* 

1 By the term Demos (the people) is meant the whole body of Athenian citizens. 

2 Cited by Mahaffy, What have the Greeks done for Moder)i Civilization ? p. 20S. 

3 See above, p. i8^, n. i. 



§240] LIMITATION OF CITIZENSHIP 21 5 

If the council did not refer to them a matter that they wished to 
consider, they could request that body to do so. The voting was 
usually by show of hands, but in special matters, such, for instance, 
as involved the rights of a citizen, it was by ballot. One of the most 
important rules of the assembly was that which made the proposer of 
a resolution or a measure responsible for it. If it contained anything 
that was illegal or contrary to some existing law, he was liable to 
prosecution and punishment. 

The Athenian Ecclesia was probably the most mentally alert popu- 
lar audience that a speaker ever addressed. Every happy historical 
or mythological allusion, every reference, however veiled, to contempo- 
rary leaders or events, evoked instant response. And it was a critical 
audience withal. The merest slip in pronunciation was likely to create 
an uproar. Demosthenes was once noisily corrected when he chanced 
to mispronounce a word in one of his addresses. 

240. The Limitation of Citizenship to Persons of Pure Attic Descent. 
We must now speak of a matter which had a most important, perhaps 
decisive, influence upon the fortunes of Athens. Just a few years be- 
fore the opening of the period with which we are dealing, Pericles had 
secured the enactment of a law limiting Athenian citizenship to persons 
born of an Athenian father and an Athenian mother.^ 

The passing of this law marks a most significant change in the 
policy of the Athenian state. Up to this time Athens had been the 
most liberal of all the cities of Greece in the admission to citizenship 
of aliens or semi-aliens, and it was this liberal policy that had con- 
tributed largely to make Athens strong and to give her the imperial 
position she held among the states of Hellas. Aside from the forma- 
tion of a federal union like the later Achaean League (sect. 301), it was 
the sole policy through which Athens could hope to unite into a real 
nation the various cities she had brought under her rule. It was the 
policy which Rome was just now adopting, and by steady adhesion to 
which she was to make of the multitude of Italian cities and tribes a 
^reat nation, and gain the dominion of the world. 

1 The ground for this piece of legislation probably was that since the rights and 
privileges of Athenian citizenship were becoming valuable, those possessing these 
rights were anxious to keep them as exclusively as possible to themselves. 



2i6 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§241 

Probably it was impossible for Athens to play in history the part 
of Rome. The feeling of the Greek for his own city was too strong. 
But we cannot help asking ourselves when we see Athens thus aban- 
doning the liberal principle which had carried her so far, what might 
have been her future had she only steadily adhered to her earlier 
policy and kept her gates, as Rome did hers, wide open to strangers, 
and thereby kept full and strong the ranks of her citizens. 

We are told that as an immediate result of the law in question 
almost five thousand persons were disfranchised, and the number of 
citizens thereby reduced to about fourteen thousand.^ 

241. Citizens are Taken into the Pay of the State. It was a fixed 
idea of Pericles and the other great democratic leaders of this period 
that in a democracy there should be not only an equal distribution 
of political rights among all classes but also an equalization of the 
means and opportunities of exercising these rights, together with an 
equal participation by all in social and intellectual enjoyments. By 
such an equalization of the privileges and pleasures of political and 
social life it was thought that the undue influence of the rich over 
the poor would be destroyed, and class envy and discord banished. 

In promoting these views Pericles and his party carried to great 
lengths the system of payment for the most common public services. 
Thus just before this time or during the administration of Pericles, 
salaries were attached to the various civil offices, all of which were 
originally unpaid positions. This reform enabled the poorer citizens 
to offer themselves as candidates for the different magistracies, which 
under the earlier system, notwithstanding the provisions of the con- 
stitution, had been open, in effect, only to men of means and leisure. 
There was also introduced a system of payment of the citizen for serv- 
ing as a juryman and for military services ; hitherto the Athenian, 
save possibly as respects service in the fleet, had served his country 
in time of war without compensation. At a later period citizens 
were even paid for attendance at the meetings of the Ecclesia. 

It was the same motives that prompted the above innovations 
which during the Periclean Age, or perhaps somewhat later, led 
to the practice of supplying all the citizens with tickets to the 

1 Plutarch, Pericles, xxxvii. 



§242] THE DICASTERIES 217 

theater^ and other places of amusement, and of banqueting the 
people on festival days at the public expense. In regard to the effect 
of these particular measures upon the character of the Athenian 
democracy we shall say a word a little farther on. 

The outcome of this general policy of the democratic leaders was 
that before the beginning of the Peloponnesian War almost every 
citizen of Athens was in the pay of the state. Aristotle says that 
more than twenty thousand were receiving payment for one kind 
of service or another.^ 

242. The Dicasteries. Among the services just enumerated for 
which the citizen received a payment from the state was that 
rendered by the Athenian juryman in the great popular courts. 
These tribunals formed such a characteristic feature of the Athens 
of Pericles that we must pause here long enough to cast a glance 
upon them. 

Each year there were chosen by lot from those Athenian citizens 
of thirty years of age and upwards who had volunteered for jury 
service six thousand persons.^ One thousand of this number was 
held in reserve ; the remaining five thousand were divided into ten 
sections of five hundred each. These divisions were called dicasteries, 
and the members dicasts, or jurymen. Although the full number of 
jurors in a dicastery was five hundred, still the usual number sitting 
on any given case was between two hundred and four hundred. 
Sometimes, however, when an important case was to be heard, the 
jury would number two thousand or even more. 

There was an immense amount of law business brought before 
these courts, for they tried not only all cases arising between the 
citizens of Athens, but attended also to a large part of the law 
business of the numerous cities of Athens' great empire. All cases 
arising between subject cities, all cases in which an Athenian citizen 

1 The theater was rented to parties who charged for admission to cover expenses. 

2 The various classes and magistrates supported by the public funds are given as 
follows : 6000 dicasts, 1600 bowmen, 1200 horsemen, 500 senators, 500 harbor guards, 
50 city guards, 700 domestic magistrates, 700 foreign magistrates, 2500 hoplites, 4000 
sailors, the crews of 20 watch ships, 2000 sailors forming crews of ships employed in col- 
lecting tribute, together with jailers and other officers {Aihcnian Coiistituiion, chap. 24). 

3 Collectively known as the HclUa. 



2l8 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 



[§243 



was interested, and finally, indeed, all important cases arising in the 
dependent states, were brought to Athens and heard in these courts. 
It is easy to see that the volume of business transacted in them 
must have been immense. 

The pay of the juror was at first one obol per day ; but later this 
was increased to three obols, a sum equal to about eight cents in 
our money. This, it seems, was sufficient to maintain an Athenian 
citizen of the poorer class. 

When a case was to be tried, it was assigned by lot to one 
of the dicasteries, this method of allotment being observed in 

order to guard against 
bribery. 

The average Athe- 
nian enjoyed sitting 
on a jury. As Lloyd 
says, " the occupation 
fell in wonderfully 
with his humor." 
The influence of the 
courts upon the Athe- 
nian character was 
far from wholesome. 
They fostered certain 
traits of the Athenians which needed the bridle rather than the goad. 
The decision of the jurors was final. There was no body or 
council in the state to review their decision. The judgment of a 
dicastery was never reversed or annulled. 

243. Pericles Adorns Athens with Public Buildings. " The arts 
follow in the wake of victory and it has ever been their loftiest task 
to perpetuate in lasting works great success achieved by human 
wisdom and valor." ^ The Periclean Age well illustrates this law. 
This period was marked by such a development of the arts as no 
other age in history has surpassed. The influences which gave such 
an impulse to artistic effort were felt alike by architecture, sculp- 
ture, and painting. This art movement awakened by the stirring 

1 Curtius, History of Greece (1902), vol. ii, p. 604. 




Fig. 105. The So-called Theseum at Athens 
(From a photograph) 

This is one of the best-preserved of Greek temples 



§243] PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF ATHENS 219 

events and achievements of the War of Liberation had its center in 
Athens, and was directed largely by Pericles. It was his idea that 
Athens having achieved such a position as she now held, the city 
should be adorned with monuments that would symbolize the power 
and glory of her empire, and at the same time fittingly express the 
nation's gratitude to the gods for the favor and protection they had 
vouchsafed. Nor was it difficult for him to persuade his art-loving 
countrymen to embellish their city with those wonderful creations 
which even in their ruins excite the admiration of the world and 
still reflect " the glory that was Greece." 

The most noteworthy of the Periclean structures were grouped 
upon the Acropolis. Here was raised the beautiful Parthenon, sacred 
to the virgin goddess Athena. The architects of this building were 
Ictinus and Callicrates ; the celebrated sculptures of the frieze and 
the pediments were designed by Phidias. These, wonderful figures 
mark the perfection of Greek art. Within the temple was the 
celebrated ivory-and-gold statue of the goddess. Near by stood the 
colossal bronze statue of Athena, — made, it is said, from the spoils 
of Marathon, — whose glittering spear point was a beacon to the 
mariner sailing in from Sunium. 

As a porch and gateway to the sacred inclosure of the citadel 
were erected the magnificent propylaea, which have served as a 
model for similar structures since the time of Pericles. 

At the western end of the southern precipitous side of the Acrop- 
olis was constructed the Odeon, or Music Hall. This building was 
intended for the musical contests held in connection with the -Pana- 
thenaic festivals. The roof was in imitation of the -great teri^, of' 
Xerxes, which was a part of the spoils of the field of Plataea. - At the 
eastern end of this same side, just at the foot of the Acropolis, was 
the celebrated Theater of Dionysus, which Pericles is believed to 
have improved and adorned.^ 

The Athenians obtained a considerable portion of the money 
needed for the prosecution of their great architectural and art under- 
takings from the treasury of the Delian Confederacy. The allies 

1 This was not the famous stone theater ; that dates from the century after Pericles. 
For additional details concerning the art matters here dealt with, see Chapter XXVI I. 



220 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 



[§244 



naturally declaimed bitterly against this proceeding, complaining that 
Athens with their money was " adorning herself as a vain woman 
decks her body with gay ornaments." But Pericles' answer to these 
charges was that the money was contributed to the end that the 
cities of the league should be protected against the Persians, and 
that so long as the Athenians kept the enemy at a distance they 

had a right to use 
the money as they 
pleased. 

244. Herodotus and 
History Writing. The 
influences which made 
architecture and sculp- 
ture the material em- 
bodiment of the spirit 
of the Periclean Age, 
contributed also to 
make history, philos- 
ophy, and the drama 
the spiritual expres- 
sion of the epoch. 

It may be truly 
said that in this period 
history had its birth, 
for Herodotus, " the 
father of history," ^ was a contemporary of Pericles. He was a 
native of Halicarnassus in Asia Minor, but his home for a time 
was Athens, where he formed one of the brilliant company that 
surrounded the great statesman. And it was in this city probably 
that he wrote parts of his great work, the history of the Persian 
Wars. In the year 445 B.C., at a public festival, he read portions 
of it to the Athenians. It was fitting that the Athenians should hear 
Herodotus read his praises of them, — he praised them highly for 
their devotion and patriotic sacrifices in the great War of Liberation, 
— for "it was their deeds," as Curtius says, "that made him an 

1 The reason for giving him this title is that he was the first artist in prose. 




Fig. 106. The Caryatid Porch ok the 
Erechtheum. (From a photograph) 

The Erechtheum was built, some time after the death of 

Pericles, on the site of an older temple which perished, 

with the other buildings on the Acropolis, at the time of 

the Persian invasion 



§245] ANAXAGORAS AND SOCRATES 221 

historian, and in fact gave birth to the art of historical writing among 
the Hellenes in Greece." 

A pleasing though unverified story connects the name of Thu- 
cydides with that of Herodotus. The tale is that Thucydidcs while 
yet a mere boy was taken by his father to one of the readings of 
Herodotus, and that the recitation and the accompanying applause 
moved the boy to tears, and to the resolve to become an historian. 
The story will help us to remember that though Thucydides' famous 
history was written in the generation following that of Pericles, still 
it was the influences of that brilliant age that molded the mind and 
inspired the genius of the great historian. 

245. Anaxagoras and Socrates. Philosophy as well as history is 
linked with the story of Athens in the Age of Pericles. The Greek 
cities of Ionia were the earliest home of Greek philosophy, but at 
this period the fame of Athens was attracting distinguished scholars 
and original thinkers from all parts. The center of philosophic activity 
in Hellas was thus shifted from Ionia to Attica. Foremost among the 
immigrant Ionian philosophers was Anaxagoras (about 500-427 B.C.), 
the friend and teacher in philosophy of Pericles. All that we need 
notice here in regard to his teachings is that he represented the true 
scientific spirit that had been awakened in Ionia, and held views 
respecting oracles, omens, and the gods which were far in advance 
of the popular conceptions of the time. 

In connection with Anaxagoras must be mentioned the name of 
another philosopher of world-wide fame. At the opening of the 
Periclean Age, Socrates, the best beloved of human teachers, had 
just entered young manhood. We shall meet him again later, 
questioning earnestly everybody whose attention he can gain on 
the streets, in the porticoes, and in the loitering places of Athens. 
Judged by spiritual standards he was a greater man than the one 
for whom his age is named ; but, as we shall learn, his own age, 
aside from a few choice spirits, knew him not. 

Because of some of his opinions, Socrates came, though unfairly, 
to be regarded as belonging to a class of teachers of uncertain repu- 
tation just now coming into prominence at Athens, and of whom we 
must next speak. 



222 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§246 

246. The Sophists and the New Education. The Age of Pericles 
witnessed a new movement in education. Up to this time the sons 
of well-to-do families had been taught reading, writing, music, and 
gymnastics. There was now a growing demand for something more 
than this elementary instruction. To meet this demand there came 
forward a class of teachers called Sophists. The aim of the higher 
education which they gave was to teach one how to get on in life. 
But to get on in Athens, or, indeed, in any other democratic Greek 
city, one must be able to address the popular assembly, to plead in 
the courts, where every man had to be his own lawyer, and, in general, 
to take the lead in public discussions. Hence the chief arts taught 
by the Sophists were rhetoric and the art of speaking. They them- 
selves as a class were wonderfully ready speakers, and thus they 
taught by example as well as by precept. Their lecture-rooms 
were crowded with eager listeners and enthusiastic admirers, young 
and old. 

These new teachers were men who had come under the influence 
of the new Ionian philosophy, which was skeptical in its tendencies. 
They scoffed at many ancestral usages, rejected the creed of the 
masses, and said things that tended to unsettle the religious faith of 
the young. Hence they were looked upon askance by old-fashioned 
and pious folk. It was this feeling of distrust and dislike which 
they awakened that contributed, as we shall see later, to one of the 
saddest tragedies in the history of Athens — the condemnation to 
death by the Athenians of the philosopher Socrates (sect. 266). 

But, on the other hand, there is much to be placed to the credit of 
these teachers. Thus for one thing the attention they as rhetoricians 
gave to the form of expression made the Athenian speech the most 
perfect that was ever formed on the lips of men. The exquisite per- 
fection of language and style of Thucydides, Demosthenes, and Plato 
owes much to the Sophists.-^ 

247. The Attic Drama. A more effective agency of the higher 
education than the Sophists were the dramatists. The Attic drama 
was the supreme embodiment of the spirit of the Age of Pericles. 
By the opening of the epoch it was already a great creation. From 

1 Croiset, History of Greek Literature (1904), p. 2S3. 



§248] NATURE OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 223 

the energies awakened by the War of Liberation it had received 
an impulse which had hurried it forward to a wonderful perfection. 
It was represented by the powerful tragedies of yEschylus, who 
belonged to the preceding age. It was his genius that incited 
the genius of Sophocles (496-406 B.C.), the true representative of 
the Periclean drama. 

We should also note that it was under the influences of the Peri- 
clean Age that the powers of the third great Attic tragedian, Euripides, 
and those of the famous writer of comedy, Aristophanes, were ripen- 
ing.-^ It was, however, the intellectual and social tendencies of the 
following epoch that they represented. 

248. Strength and Weakness of the Athenian Empire. We must 
now resume our narrative of events. And first we cast a glance 
upon the empire Athens had created, in order to note in what 
measure it was prepared for the test of stability it was soon to 
undergo. Under Pericles Athens had become the most powerful 
naval state in the world. In one of his last speeches (sect. 251), 
made soon after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, in which 
he recounts the resources of the Athenian Empire, Pericles says to 
his fellow-citizens : " There is not now a king, there is not any nation 
in the universal world, able to withstand that navy which at this 
juncture you can launch out to sea." 

And this was no empty boast. The ^gean in truth had become 
an Athenian lake. Its islands and coast lands, together with the 
Hellespontine region, formed virtually an Athenian empire. The 
revenue ships of Athens collected tribute from more than two hun- 
dred Greek cities. It seemed almost as though the union of the 
cities of Hellas was to be effected on an imperial basis through the 
energy and achievements of the Athenians. 

But the most significant feature of this new imperial power was 
the remarkable combination of material and intellectual resources 
which it exhibited. Never before had there been such a union of 
the material and the intellectual elements of civilization at the seat 

1 Euripides (480-406 B.C.); Aristophanes (450-385 B.C.). For further biographical 
facts of the philosophers and writers mentioned in the above paragraphs, and for some 
comments on their works, see Chapters XXVIll and XXIX. 



224 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§248 

of empire.-^ Literature and art had been carried to the utmost per- 
fection possible to human genius. 

But there were elements of weakness in the splendid imperial 
structure. The Athenian Empire was destined to be short-lived be- 
cause the principles upon which it rested were in opposition to the 
deepest instinct of the Greek race — to that sentiment of local patri- 
otism which invested each individual city with political sovereignty 
(sect. 155). Athens had disregarded this feeling. Pericles himself 
acknowledged that in the hands of the Athenians sovereignty had 
run into a sort of tyranny. The so-called confederates were the 
subjects of Athens. To her they paid tribute. To her courts they 
were dragged for trial.^ Naturally the subject cities of her empire 
— that is, the patriotic or home-rule party in these dependent 
states — regarded Athens as the destroyer of Hellenic liberties, 
and watched impatiently for the first favorable moment to revolt 
and throw off the yoke that she had imposed upon them. Hence 
the Athenian Empire rested upon a foundation of sand. 

Had Athens, instead of enslaving her confederates of the Delian 
League, only been able to find some way of retaining them as allies 
in an equal union, — a great and perhaps impossible task under the 
then existing conditions of the Hellenic world, — as head of the 
federated Greek race she might have secured for Hellas the sover- 
eignty of the Mediterranean, and the history of Rome might have 
ended with the first century of the republic. 

Illustrations of the weakness as well as of the strength of the 
Athenian Empire will be afforded by the great struggle between 
Athens and Sparta known as the Peloponnesian War, the causes 
and chief incidents of which we shall next rehearse. 

1 "The average ability of the Athenian race [was], on the lowest possible estimate, 
very nearly two grades higher than our own ; that is, about as much as our race is above 
that of the African negro. This estimate, which may seem prodigious to some, is con- 
firmed by the quick intelligence and high culture of the Athenian commonalty, before 
whom literary works were recited, and works of art exhibited of a far more severe char- 
acter than could possibly be appreciated by the average of our race, the calibre of whose 
intellect is easily gauged by a glance at the contents of a railway bookstall." — Galton, 
Hereditary Genius (2d Am. ed., 1S87), p. 342 ; quoted by Kidd, Social Evolution^ chap. ix. 

2 The subject cities were allowed to maintain only their lower courts of justice ; all 
cases of importance, as we have seen (sect. 242), were carried to Athens, and there 
decided in the Attic tribunals. 



REFERENCES 225 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Pericles. Thucydides, ii, 65 (on 
the character of Pericles). Thallon's Readings, pp. 26S-293 ; Davis's Keadiiigs 
(Greece), pp. 207-215; Fling's Source Book, pp. 159-172. 

References (Modern). Curtius, vol. ii, pp. 460-641. Grote (ten-volume 
ed.), vol. iv, pp. 43S-533. Abbott, vol. iii, chaps, i, ii. Holm, vol. ii, chaps, xv- 
XX. Bury, History of Greece, chap. ix. Cox, The Athenian Empire and Lives 
of Greek Statesmen, " Ephialtes " and " Perikles." Lloyd, The Age of Pericles, 
vol. ii, chaps, xli, xlii. Butler, The Story of Athens, chap. vii. Abbott, Peri- 
cles and the Golden Age of Athens, chaps, x-xviii. Grant, Greece in the Age of 
Pericles, chaps, vii, viii, xii- Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, chap. v. 
Cotterill, A7icie7tt Greece, chap. vi. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The public buildings of Athens: Reinach, 
Apollo, chap, vi; Fowler and Wheeler, Greek Archcrology, pp. 144-150, 155- 
157. 2. "A Day in Athens": Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, chaps, vi, vii; 
Bliimner, The Ho7ne Life of the Aficient Greeks, chap, v, pp. 179-201. 3. Trades 
and manufactures : Gulick, The Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap, xviii, pp. 227- 
238. 4. Various classes of the population : Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, 
chap. iv. 5. Civic duties of citizens : Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, 
chap. xvi. 6. Private dwellings and furniture : Tucker, Life in Ancient 
Athens, chap. v. 7. Religion of the average Athenian: Tucker, Life in 
Ancient Athens, chap. xi. 8. The things seen in a walk about your own city 
which remind you of the contributions of Greece to our civilization. 



CHAPTER XXII 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR ; THE SPARTAN AND THE 
THEBAN SUPREMACY 

I. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (431-404 B.C.) 

249. The Immediate Causes of the War. Before the end of the 

hfe of Pericles the growing jealousy between Ionian Athens on the 
one hand and Dorian Sparta and her allies on the other broke out in 
the long and calamitous struggle known as the Peloponnesian War. 
Pericles had foreseen the coming storm : " I descry war," he said, 
" lowering from the Peloponnesus." 

One immediate cause of the war was the interference of Athens, 
on the side of the Corcyraeans, in a quarrel between them and 
their mother city Corinth. The real root of this trouble between 
Corinth and Corcyra was mercantile rivalry. Both were enterprising 
commercial cities, and both wished to control the trade of the islands 
and the coast towns of Western Greece. The motive of the Athe- 
nians for interesting themselves in this quarrel between mother and 
daughter was to prevent any accession to the naval power of Corinth 
by her possible acquisition of the fleet of the Corcyraeans, and to 
make sure of Corcyra as an important station and watch post on 
the route to Italy. 

The second immediate cause of the war was the blockade of 
Potidaea, in Chalcidice, by the Athenians. This was a Corinthian 
colony, but it was a member of the Delian League, and was now 
being chastised by Athens for attempted secession. Corinth, as the 
ever-jealous naval rival of Athens, had endeavored to lend aid to her 
daughter, but had been worsted in an engagement with the Athenians. 

With affairs in this shape, Corinth, seconded by other states that 
had causes of complaint against Athens, appealed to Sparta, as the 
head of the Dorian alliance, for aid and justice. The Spartans, after 

226 




THE GREEK WORLD 

at the lieginning of the 

PELOPONNESIAJ* WAR 

431 B. C. 



Scale of lUles. 



18 Lougtiude 



§250] THE PELOPONNESIANS RAVAGE ATTICA 227 

listening to the deputies of both sides, decided that the Athenians 
had been guilty of injustice, and declared for war. The resolution 
of the Spartans was indorsed by the Peloponnesian Confederation, 
and apparently approved by the Delphic oracle, which, in response 
to an inquiry of the Spartans as to what would be the issue of 
the proposed undertaking, assured them that " they would gain the 
victory, if they fought with all their might." 

250. ThePeloponnesiansRavage Attica (431 B.C.). A Peloponnesian 
army was soon collected at the Isthmus, ready for a campaign against 
Athens. With invasion imminent, the inhabitants of the hamlets and 
scattered farmhouses of Attica abandoned their homes and sought 
shelter behind the defenses of the capital. Into the plain thus deserted 
the Peloponnesians marched, and ravaged the country far and near. 
From the walls of the city the Athenians could see the flames of their 
burning houses, which recalled to the old men the sight they had 
witnessed from the island of Salamis just forty-nine years before, at 
the time of the Persian invasion. The failure of provisions finally 
compelled the Peloponnesians to withdraw from the country, and the 
contingents of the different cities scattered to their homes. 

251. Funeral Oration of Pericles.^ It was the custom of the Athe- 
nians to bury with public and imposing ceremonies the bodies of those 
who fell in battle. In the funeral procession the bones of the dead 
of each tribe were borne in a single chest on a litter, while an empty 
litter covered with a pall was carried for those whose bodies had not 
been recovered. The remains were laid in the public cemetery, out- 
side the city gates. After the burial, some person chosen by his fellow- 
citizens on account of his special fitness for the service delivered an 
oration over the dead, extolling their deeds and exhorting the living 
to an imitation of their virtues. 

1 Respecting the speeches which Thucydides introduces so frequently in his narra- 
tive, he himself says: "As to the speeches which were made either before or during 
the war, it was hard for me, and for others who reported them to me, to recollect the 
exact words. I have therefore put into the mouth of each speaker the sentiments 
proper to the occasion, expressed as I thought he would be likely to express them, 
while at the same time I endeavored, as nearly as I could, to give the general purport 
of what was actually said" (Thucydides, Jowett's trans., i, 15). To insert in their text 
made-up speeches was the practice of all the ancient historians. Concerning the cus- 
tom, the historian Polybius (xii, 25 ?) says: "To select from time to time the proper 
and appropriate language is a necessary part of our art." 



228 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§251 

It was during the winter following the campaign we have described 
that the Athenians celebrated the funeral ceremonies of those who 
had fallen thus far in the war. Pericles was chosen to give the oration 
on this occasion. This funeral speech, as reported by Thucydides, 
is one of the most valuable memorials preserved to us from antiquity. 
All the circumstances under which the oration was pronounced lent 
to it a peculiar and pathetic interest. 

The speaker took advantage of the occasion to describe the 
institutions to which Athens owed her greatness, and to picture 
the glories of the imperial city for which the heroes they lamented 
had died. He first spoke of the fathers from whom they had 
inherited their institutions of freedom, and their great empire, and 
then passed on to speak of the character and spirit of those institu- 
tions through which Athens had risen to power and greatness. The 
Athenian government, he said, was a democracy ; for all the citizens, 
rich and poor alike, participated in its administration. There was 
freedom of intercourse and of action among the citizens, each doing 
as he liked ; and yet there was a spirit of reverence and of respect 
for law. Numerous festivals and games furnished amusement and 
relaxation from toil for all citizens. Life in the great city was more 
enjoyable than elsewhere, being enriched by fruits and goods from 
all the world. 

The speaker praised, too, Athens' military system, in which the 
citizen was not sacrificed to the soldier, as at Sparta ; and yet Athens 
was alone a match for Sparta and all her allies. He extolled the 
intellectual, moral, and social virtues of the Athenians, which were 
fostered by their free institutions, and declared their city to be " the 
school of Hellas " and the model for all other cities. 

* A bas-relief recently excavated on the Acropolis of Athens. Dr. Charles Waldstein 
thinks that this sculpture may " have headed an inscription containing the names of those 
who had fallen in battle, which record was placed in some public spot in Athens or on 
the Acropolis. Our Athene-Nike would then be standing in the attitude of mourning, 
with reversed spear, gazing down upon the tombstone which surmounts the grave of her 
brave sons." As to the possible connection of this relief with the funeral oration of 
Pericles, Dr. Waldstein says : " Though I do not mean to say that the inscription which 
it surmounted referred immediately to those who had fallen in the campaign of 4;;i B.C., 
I still feel that the most perfect counterpart in literature is the famous funeral oration of 
Pericles as recorded by Thucydides." 




Plate XII. The Mourning Athena.* (From a photograph) 



§253] THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS 229 

Continuing, the speaker declared that Athens alone of all existing 
cities was greater than the report of her in the world ; and that she 
would never need a Homer to perpetuate her memory, because she 
herself had set up everywhere eternal monuments of her greatness. 
" Such is the city," he exclaimed impressively, " for whose sake these 
men nobly fought and died ; they could not bear the thought that 
she might be taken from them ; and every one of us who survive 
should gladly toil on her behalf." 

Then followed words of tribute to the valor and self-devotion of 
the dead, whose sepulchers and inscriptions were not the graves and 
the memorial stones of the cemetery — "for the whole earth is the 
sepulcher of famous men," and the memorials of them are " graven 
not on stone but in the hearts of mankind." Finally, with words of 
comfort for the relatives of the dead, the orator dismissed the 
assembly to their homes.^ 

" Thus did Pericles represent to the Athenian citizens the nature 
of their state, and picture to them what Athens should be. Their 
better selves he held before them, in order to strengthen them and 
to lift them above themselves, and to inspire in them self-devotion 
and constancy and bravery. With new courage turned they from 
the graves of the fallen to their homes, and went forward to meet 
whatever destiny the gods might have ordained " (Curtius). 

That funeral day was, indeed, one of the great days in ancient 
Athens. 

252. The Plague at Athens (430 B.C.); the Death of Pericles 
(429 B.C.). Very soon had the Athenians need to exercise all those 
virtues which the orator had admonished them to cherish ; for upon 
the return of the next campaigning season the Peloponnesians, 
having mustered again two thirds of all their fighting forces, broke 
once more into Attica and ravaged the land anew, giving to the 
flames such villages and farmhouses as had escaped destruction the 
previous year. 

The walls of Athens were unassailable by the hostile army; but 
unfortunately they were no defense against a more terrible foe. 
A pestilence broke out in the crowded city and added its horrors 

1 See Thucydides, ii, 35-46, for the whole oration. 



230 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§253 

to the already unbearable calamities of war. The mortality was 
frightful. One fourth of the population of the city was swept away. 

In the third year of the war the plague reappeared at Athens. 
Pericles, who had been the very soul and life of Athens during all 
these dark days, fell a victim to the disease. The plague had pre- 
viously robbed him of his sister and his two sons. The death of his 
younger son Paralus, the last of his family, had bowed him in grief, 
and as he laid the usual funeral wreath upon the head of the dead boy, 
for the first time in his life, it is said, he gave way to his feelings in a 
passionate outburst of tears. In dying, the great statesman is reported 
to have said that he regarded his best tide to honored remembrance to 
be that " he had never caused an Athenian to put on mourning." ^ 

After the death of Pericles the leadership of affairs at Athens fell 
to a great degree into the hands of demagogues. The mob element 
got control of the Ecclesia, so that hereafter we shall find many of its 
measures marked neither by virtue nor by wisdom. 

253. The Cruel Character of the War: the Athenians Wreak Ven- 
geance upon the Mytileneans, and the Spartans upon the Plataeans. 
On both sides the war was waged with the utmost vindictiveness and 
cruelty. Thus in the year 428 b. c. the city of Mytilene, on the island of 
Lesbos, revolted from the Athenians. With the rebellion suppressed, 
the fate of the Mytileneans was in the hands of the Athenian as- 
sembly. Cleon, a rash and violent leader of the democratic party, 
proposed that all the men of the place, six thousand in number, 
should be slain, and the women and children sold as slaves. This 
infamous decree was passed and a galley dispatched bearing the 
sentence to the Athenian general at Mytilene for execution. 

By the next morning, however, the Athenians had repented of their 
hasty resolution. A second meeting of the assembly was hurriedly 
called, the barbarous vote was repealed, and a swift trireme, bearing 
the reprieve, set out in anxious haste to overtake the former galley, 
which had twenty-four hours the start. The trireme reached the island 
just in time to prevent the carrying out of the cruel edict. 

The second resolution of the Athenians, though more discriminat- 
ing than the first decree, was quite severe enough. The leaders of the 

1 Plutarch, Pericles, xxxviiL 



§254] THE SURRENDER OF A SPARTAN FORCE 231 

revolt were put to death, the walls of the city were torn down, and the 
larger part of the lands of tl;e island was given to citizens of Athens.^ 

Still more unrelenting and cruel were the Spartans. In the summer 
of the same year that the Athenians wreaked such vengeance upon 
the Mytileneans, the Spartans and their allies captured the city of 
Platasa, put to death all the men, sold the women as slaves, and 
turned the site of the city into pasture land. 

254. The Surrender of a Spartan Force; the Significance of this. 
Soon after the affair at Mytilene and the destruction of Platasa, an 
enterprising general of the Athenians, 
named Demosthenes, seized and fortified 
a point of land (Pylos) on the coast of 
Messenia. The Spartans made every effort 
to dislodge the enemy. In the course of 
the siege some Lacedaemonians, having 
landed upon an adjacent little island 
(Sphacteria), were so unfortunate as to 
be cut off from the mainland by the sud- 
den arrival of an Athenian fleet. After 
having made a splendid fight, they were 
completely surrounded and hopelessly out- 
numbered. They must now either sur- 
render or die. They decided to surrender. 
Among those giving themselves up were over a hundred Spartans, 
some of whom were members of the best families at Sparta. 

The surrender of Spartan soldiers had hitherto been deemed an 
incredible thing. " Nothing which happened during the war," declares 
Thucydides, " caused greater amazement in Hellas ; for it was uni- 
versally imagined that the Lacedaemonians would never give up their 
arms, either under the pressure of famine or in any other extremity, 
but would fight to the last and die sword in hand." 

The real significance of the affair was the revelation it made of the 
relaxing at Sparta of that tense military discipline which had given 




1 These settlers were cleruchs (p. 163, n. i). They did not cultivate with their own 
hands the lands received ; these were tilled by the native Lesbians, who paid the new 
proprietors a fixed rent. 



232 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§255 

the Spartans such a place and reputation in the Hellenic world. It 
was the beginning of the end. In passing from Thermopylae to Pylos 
we cross a great divide in Spartan history. 

255. The Peace of Nicias (421 B.C.). After four more years of 
fighting both sides became weary of the war. Negotiations for peace 
were opened, which, after many embassies back and forth, resulted 
in what is known as the Peace of Nicias, because of the prominent 
part that Athenian general had in bringing it about. The treaty 
provided for a truce of fifty years. 

The Peace of Nicias was only a nominal one. Some of the allies 
of the two principal parties to the truce were dissatisfied with it, and 
so the war went on. For about seven years, however, Athens and 
Sparta refrained from invading each other's territory ; but even 
during this period each was aiding its allies in making war upon 
the dependents or confederates of the other. Finally, hostilities 
flamed out in open and avowed war, and all Hellas was again lit 
up with the fires of the fratricidal strife. 

256. The Fall of Melos (416 B.C.). The matter that especially 
arrests our attention in the first five years of the renewed war was 
the seizure by the Athenians of the island of Melos. This pleasant 
island, which is one of the most westerly of the Cyclades, was the 
only island in the ^gean, with the exception of Thera, which was 
not at this time included in the Athenian Empire. The Athenians 
determined to take possession of it. So they sent an expedition 
to the island, and commanded the Melians to acknowledge at once 
the suzerainty of Athens. The demand, if we may here trust Thu- 
cydides' account, was based on no other ground than Athenian im- 
perial interests and the right of the strong to rule the weak. " For 
of the gods we believe," — thus Thucydides makes the Athenian 
envoys speak, — " and of men we know, that by a law of their 
nature wherever they can rule they will. This law was not made 
by us, and we are not the first who have acted upon it ; we did but 
inherit it, and shall bequeath it to all time." ^ 

The Melians, relying on the righteousness of their cause and the 
help of their Lacedaemonian kinsmen, refused to surrender, at the 

1 Thucydides (Jowett's trans.), v, 105. 



§257] 



ALCIBIADES 



233 



bidding of Athens, their independence, which, according to their 
traditions, they had enjoyed for seven centuries. 

So the city of Melos was blockaded by sea and beset by land, and 
in a few months, neither the gods nor the Lacedaemonians bringing 
help, the whole island was in the hands of the Athenians. All the 
men were at once put to death, and the women and children sold 
into slaver)^ The island was then repopulated by settlers sent out 
from Athens.^ 

257. Alcibiades. It becomes necessary for us here to introduce 
a new leader of the Athenian Demos, Alcibiades, who played a most 
conspicuous part, not only in Athenian 
but also in Hellenic affairs, from this 
time on to near the close of the war. 
Alcibiades was a young man of noble 

lineage and of aristocratic associa- Wv_ W^ 

tions. He was versatile, brilliant, and v 

resourceful, but unscrupulous, reck- 
less, and profligate. He was a pupil 
of Socrates, but he failed to follow the 
counsels of his teacher. His astonish- 
ing escapades kept all Athens talking ; 
in truth, Plutarch says that he did out- 
rageous things just to give the Athe- 
nians something to gossip about. Yet 
these things seemed only to attach the 
people more closely to him, for he possessed all those personal traits 
which make men popular idols. His influence over the democracy 
was unlimited. He was able to carry through the Ecclesia almost 
any measure that it pleased him to advocate. 

The more prudent of the Athenians were filled with apprehension 
for the future of the state under such guidance. The noted misan- 
thrope Timon gave expression to this feeling when, after Alcibiades 




\ 



Fig. 107. Alcibiades 



1 Doubtless Thucydides in making the story of this crime the prelude to his account 
of the Sicilian Expedition (sect. 2 58) would have his readers see in the arrogant and 
wicked conduct of the Athenians and the awful disaster that befell them in Sicily a 
Striking illustration of the workings of the law of Nemesis (sect. 342). 



234 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§258 

had secured the assent of the popular assembly to one of his impolitic 
measures, he said to him : " Go on, my brave boy, and prosper ; for 
your prosperity will bring on the ruin of all this crowd." And it did, 
as we shall see.^ 

258. Debate on the Sicilian Expedition. The most prosperous 
enterprise of Alcibiades, in the Timonian sense, was the inciting of 
the Athenians to undertake an expedition against the Dorian city 
of Syracuse, in Sicily. The resolution to engage in the tremendous 
enterprise seems to have been taken lightly by the Athenians, which 
was quite in keeping with their usual way of doing things ; but a 
few days after their first vote, a second meeting of the Ecclesia 
having been called for the purpose of making arrangements for the 
equipment of the armament, Nicias, who was opposed to the under- 
taking, tried to persuade the people to reconsider their original vote 
and give up the project. This opened the flood gates of a regular 
Athenian debate. 

Nicias stated the reasons why he thought the proposed expedi- 
tion should be abandoned. His first point was that the situation 
at home — with the cities of the Thracian shore in open and un- 
punished revolt, and with other subject cities watching for a favor- 
able moment to rebel — was such as to render it very unwise for 
them to send so far away a large part of their fighting force. 
The Athenians should secure well their present empire before 
attempting to conquer a new one in the Western world. 

Nicias also reminded the Athenians that there were still great 
unfilled gaps in their ranks made by the plague and by a war that 
had known scarcely any real intermission during sixteen years. The 
finances of the state, too, needed to be husbanded. 

The speaker then proceeded to pay his attention to Alcibiades, 
who was the real instigator of the whole movement. He appealed 
to the citizens of experience and mature judgment not to allow grave 
public affairs to be thus toyed with by this harebrained youth, and 
those like him, with whom he had filled the benches of the assembly. 
He appealed to them, by a fearless raising of their hands, to avert 
from Athens the greatest danger that had ever threatened the city.^ 

1 Plutarch, Alcibiades, xvi. 2 See Thucydides, vi, 9-14, for the entire speech. 



§258] DEBATE ON THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION 235 

This speech of Nicias summarizes the arguments that should have 
weighed with the Athenians in deterring them from embarking in 
the hazardous undertaking that they had in mind. But from the 
speeches that followed, and their reception by the assembly, it was 
evident that the veteran general had not carried his audience with 
him. He was supported by a few speakers, but the most of the 
assembly opposed his conservative policy. 

The leader of the war party, as has already appeared, was 
Alcibiades. He made himself the mouthpiece of his party, and 
replied to Nicias in a violent and demagogic speech, which he 
closed by telling the Athenians that if they wished to rule, instead 
of being ruled, they must maintain that enterprising and aggressive 
policy that had won for them their empire. To adopt Nicias' policy 
of inaction and indolent repose was simply to give up their imperial 
position. Let old and young unite, he said, in lifting Athens to a 
yet greater height of power and glory. With Sicily conquered, the 
Athenians would without doubt become lords of the whole Hellenic 
world. 

Alcibiades evidently had the ear of the meeting. Nicias perceived 
this, and realizing that to address arguments to the understanding 
of the people in their present martial mood would be useless, 
changed his tactics, and in a second speech strove to frighten them 
from the undertaking by dwelling upon the size and expense of the 
armament they must place at the disposal of their generals. 

This speech produced just the opposite effect upon the meeting 
from that which Nicias had hoped. The vastness of the enterprise, 
the magnificent proportions of the armament needed, as pictured by 
Nicias, seemed to captivate the imagination of the Athenians, and 
they were more eager than ever to embark in the undertaking. The 
expedition further presented itself to the ardent imagination of the 
youth as a sort of pleasure and sight-seeing excursion among 
the wonders of the land of the " Far West." Those who had no 
mind of their own in the matter or who were opposed to the under- 
taking were carried away or were silenced by the enthusiasm of the 
others ; and so it came about that, almost without a dissenting voice, 
the assembly voted for the expedition. 



236 ■ THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§259 

259. The Departure of the Expedition from the Piraeus (415 B.C.). 
The day of the departure of the Athenian fleet -^ from the Piraeus 
was one of the great days in ancient Athens. It was yet early 
morning when the soldiers and sailors poured down from the upper 
city into the harbor town and began to man the ships. " The entire 
population of Athens," says Thucydides, who must have been an 
eyewitness of the stirring scene which he describes, " accompanied 
them, citizens and strangers alike, to witness an enterprise of which the 
greatness exceeded belief." Prayers having been offered and libations 
made to the gods, the paean was raised, and the ships put out to sea.^ 

Anxiously did those remaining behind watch the departing ships 
until they were lost to sight. Could the anxious watchers have fore- 
seen the fate of the splendid armament, their anxiety would have 
passed into despair : " Athens itself was sailing out of the Piraeus, 
never to return." 

260. The Recall of Alcibiades ; he Flees to Sparta and "Plays 
the Traitor." Scarcely had the expedition arrived at Sicily when 
Alcibiades, who was one of the generals in command of the arma- 
ment, was summoned back to Athens to answer a charge of impiety.^ 
Fearing to trust himself in the hands of his enemies at Athens, he 
fled to Sparta, and there, by traitorous counsel, did all in his power 
to ruin the very expedition he had planned. 

The surest way, Alcibiades told the Spartans, in which to wreck 
the plans of the Athenians was to send to Sicily at once a force of 
heavy-armed men, and above all a good Spartan general, who alone 
would be worth a whole army. The Spartans acted upon the advice 
given them by Alcibiades. They sent to Sicily their ablest general, 
Gylippus, with instructions to push the war there with the utmost vigor. 

261. Sad Plight of the Athenians before Syracuse; the Fatal 
Eclipse ; the Retreat ; the End of the Tragedy (413 B.C.). The affairs 
of the Athenians in Sicily at just this time were prospering greatly. 
But the arrival of Gylippus changed everything at once. After some 

1 It consisted of 134 costly triremes, bearing 36,000 soldiers and sailors. 

2 Thucydides, vi, 32. 

3 Just upon the eve of the departure of the expedition, the statues of Hermes 
scattered throughout the city were grossly mutilated. Alcibiades was accused of having 
had a hand in the affair, and furthermore of having mimicked certain sacred rites. 



§261] END OF THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION 237 

severe fighting in which the Athenians lost heavily, they resolved to 
withdraw their forces from the island while retreat by the sea was 
still open to them. 

Just as the ships were about to weigh anchor, there occurred an 
eclipse of the moon. This portent caused the greatest consternation 
among the Athenian troops. Nicias unfortunately was a man who 
had full faith in omens and divination. He sought now the advice, 
not of his colleagues, but of his soothsayers. They pronounced the 
portent to be an unfavorable one, and advised that the retreat be 
delayed thirty-seven days. 

Never did a reliance upon omens more completely undo a people. 
The salvation of the Athenians depended absolutely upon their im- 
mediate retreat. The delay prescribed by the diviners was fatal. It 
seems the irony of fate that the Athenians, who more than any other 
people of antiquity had learned to depend in the management of 
their affairs upon their own intelligence and judgment, should perish 
through a superstitious regard for omens and divination. 

Further disaster and a failure of provisions finally convinced the 
Athenians that they must without longer delay fight their way out 
by sea or by land. An attempt to fight their way out of the harbor 
failed dismally. There was now no course open save retreat by land. 
Making such preparations as they could for their march, they set out. 
" They were," says Thucydides, whose words alone can picture the 
distress of the scene, " in a dreadful condition : indeed they seemed 
not like an army, but like the fugitive population of a city captured 
after a siege ; and of a great city, too ; for the multitude who were 
marching numbered not less than forty thousand." 

Pursued and harassed by the Syracusans, the fleeing multitude was 
practically annihilated. Only a few escaped. The prisoners, about 
seven thousand in number, were crowded in deep, open stone quarries 
around Syracuse, in which prison pens hundreds soon died of exposure 
and starvation. Most of the wretched survivors were finally sold into 
slavery. The unfortunate generals Nicias and Demosthenes were both 
put to death. 

The tragedy of the Sicilian expedition was now ended. Two 
centuries were to pass before Sicily was again to become the arena 



238 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§262 

of transactions equally significant for universal history. Then another 
imperial city was to seek in Sicily, with the fates more propitious, 
the path to universal dominion. 

262. The Decelean War; the Fall of Athens (404 B.C.). While the 
Athenians were before Syracuse, the Spartans, acting upon the 
advice of Alcibiades, had taken possession of and fortified a strong 
and commanding position known as Decelea, in Attica, only fourteen 
miles from Athens. This was a thorn in the side of Athens. Secure 
in this stronghold, the Spartans could annoy and keep in terror 
almost all the Attic plain. The occupation by the Spartans of this 
strategic point had such a determining influence upon the remainder 
of the Peloponnesian War that this latter portion of it is known as 
the Decelean War (413-404 B.C.). 

With most admirable courage the Athenians, after the great dis- 
aster in Sicily, set to work to retrieve their seemingly irretrievable 
fortune. Forgetting and forgiving the past, they recalled Alcibiades 
and gave him command of the army, thereby well illustrating what 
the poet Aristophanes said of their disposition towards the spoiled 
favorite — "They love, they hate, but cannot live without him." 

Alcibiades gained some splendid victories for Athens. But he 
could not undo the evil he had done. He had ruined Athens 
beyond redemption by any human power. The struggle grew more 
and more hopeless. Alcibiades was defeated, and, fearing to face 
the Athenians, who had deposed him from his command, sought 
safety in flight.-^ 

Finally, at ^gospotami, on the Hellespont, the Athenian fleet 
was surprised and captured by the Spartan general Lysander 
(405 B.C.). The native Athenians, to the number of four thousand, 
it is said, were put to death, the usual rites of burial being denied 
their bodies. Among the few Athenian vessels that escaped cap- 
ture was the state ship Paralus, which hastened to Athens with 
the tidings of the terrible misfortune. It arrived in the nighttime, 
and from the Piraeus the awful news, published by a despairing 
wail, spread up the Long Walls into the upper city. " That night," 
says Xenophon, " no one slept." 

1 Some years later he was killed in Asia Minor. 



§263] THE RESULTS OF THE WAR 239 

Besieged by sea and land, Athens was soon forced to surrender. 
Some of the allies insisted upon a total destruction of the city. The 
Spartans, however, with apparent magnanimity, declared that they 
would never consent thus " to put out one of the eyes of Greece." 
The real motive of the Spartans in sparing the city was their fear 
lest, with Athens blotted out, Thebes or Corinth should become too 
powerful, and the leadership of Sparta be thereby endangered. The 
final resolve was that the lives of the Athenians should be spared, 
but that they should be required to demolish their Long Walls and 
those of the Piraeus, to give up all their ships save twelve, and to 
bind themselves to do Sparta's bidding by sea and land. 

The Athenians were forced to surrender on these hard conditions. 
Straightway the victors dismantled the harbor at Piraeus, burning 
the unfinished ships on the docks, and then began the demolition of 
the Long Walls and the fortifications, the work going on to the 
accompaniment of festive music and dancing ; for the Peloponne- 
sians, says Xenophon, looked upon that day as the beginning of 
liberty for the Hellenes. 

The long war was now over. The dominion of the imperial city 
of Athens was at an end, and the great days of Greece were past. 

263. The Results of the War. "Never," says Thucydides, com- 
menting upon the results of the Peloponnesian War, " never were 
so many cities captured and depopulated. . . . Never were exile and 
slaughter more frequent, whether in the war or brought about by 
civil strife." Greece never recovered from the blow which had 
destroyed so large a part of her population. 

Athens was merely the wreck of her former self. The harbor 
of Piraeus, once crowded with ships, was now empty. The popula- 
tion of the capital had been terribly thinned. Things were just the 
reverse now of what they were at the time of the Persian invasion, 
when, with Athens in ruins, Themistocles at Salamis, taunted with 
being a man without a city, could truthfully declare that Athens was 
there on the sea in her ships. Now the real Athens was gone ; only 
the empty shell remained. 

Not Athens alone, but all Hellas, bore the marks of the cruel war. 
Sites once covered with pleasant villages or flourishing towns were 



240 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§264 

now plough and pasture land. The Greek world had sunk many- 
degrees in morality, while the vigor and productiveness of the intel- 
lectual and artistic life of Hellas were impaired beyond recovery. 
The achievements of the Greek intellect in the century following 
the war were, it is true, wonderful ; but these triumphs merely show, 
we may believe, what the Hellenic mind would have done for art 
and general culture had it been permitted, unchecked, and under 
the favoring and inspiring conditions of liberty and self-government, 
to disclose all that was latent in it. 

II. THE SPARTAN AND THE THEBAN SUPREMACY 

264. Character of the Spartan Supremacy, For just one genera- 
tion following the Peloponnesian War (404-371 B.C.), Sparta held 
the leadership of the Greek states. Throughout that struggle she 
had maintained that her only purpose in warring against Athens 
was to regain for the Greek cities the liberty of which Athens had 
deprived them. But no sooner was the power of Athens broken 
than Sparta herself began to play the tyrant. Aristocratic govern- 
ments, with institutions similar to the Spartan, were established in 
the different cities of the old Athenian Empire. At Athens the demo- 
cratic constitution under which the Athenians had attained their 
greatness was abolished, and an oppressive oligarchy established in 
its stead. The Thirty Tyrants, however, who administered this gov- 
ernment, were, after eight months' infamous rule, driven from the 
city, and the old democratic constitution, somewhat modified, was 
reestablished (403 B.C.). 

265 . The Expedition of the Ten Thousand Greeks (401-400 b. c). One 
of the most memorable episodes of this period of Spartan supremacy 
was the famous expedition of the Ten Thousand Greeks. Cyrus, 
brother of the Persian king Artaxerxes H, and satrap in Asia Minor, 
feeling that he had been unjustly excluded from the throne by his 
brother, secretly planned to dethrone him. From various quarters 
he gathered an army of over one hundred thousand barbarians and 
about thirteen thousand Greek mercenaries under the lead of a Spartan 
named Clearchus, and set out on the undertaking. 



§265] 



EXPEDITION OF THE TEN THOUSAND 



241 



The march of the expedition through Asia Minor and across the 
Mesopotamian plains was unimpeded by the Persians^ and Cyrus had 
penetrated to the very heart of the Persian Empire before, at Cunaxa 
in Babylonia, his farther advance was disputed by Artaxerxes with an 
army numbering, it is said, eight hundred thousand men. In the battle 
which here followed, the splendid conduct of the Greeks won the day 
for their leader. Cyrus, however, was slain ; and Clearchus and the 
other Grecian generals were treacherously seized and put to death. 




The March of the Ten Thousand Greeks 



The Greeks, in a hurried night meeting, chose new generals to 
lead them back to their homes. The real chief of these was Xeno- 
phon, the popular historian of the expedition. Under his direction the 
Greeks made one of the most memorable retreats in all history. 
They traversed the plains of the Tigris, and then, in the midst of the 
winter season, crossed the snowy passes of the mountains of Armenia. 
Finally, after almost incredible hardships, the head of the retreating 
column reached the top of a mountain ridge whence the waters of the 
Euxine appeared to view. A great shout, ''^ Thalatta ! Thalatta !''' 
(The sea ! the sea !), arose and spread back through the column, 
creating a tumult of joy among the soldiers, weary with their seemingly 



242 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§266 

endless marching and fighting. The Greeks had struck the sea at 
the spot where wstood the Greek colony of Trapezus (now Trebizond), 
whence they finally made their way home. 

The march of the Ten Thousand is regarded as one of the most 
remarkable military exploits of antiquity. Its historical significance is 
derived from the fact that it paved the way for the later expedition 
of Alexander the Great. This it did by revealing to the Greeks the 
decayed state of the Persian Empire and showing how feeble was 
the resistance which it could offer to the march of an army of 
disciplined soldiers. 

266. The Condemnation and Death of Socrates (399 B.C.). While 
Xenophon was yet away on his expedition, there took place in his 
native city the tragedy to which we have already referred (sect. 246) 
— the trial and condemnation to death by the Athenians of their 
fellow-citizen Socrates, the greatest moral teacher of pagan antiquity. 

The double charge upon which he was condemned was worded as 
follows : " Socrates is guilty of crime — first, for not worshiping the 
gods whom the city worships, but in introducing new divinities of his 
own ; next, for corrupting the youth. The penalty is death." 

We are surprised that such a man as Socrates should have been 
the object of such a prosecution in tolerant, free-thiflking, and 
freedom-loving Athens. But his prosecutors were moved by other 
motives besides zeal for the national worship. Socrates during his 
long life — he was now an old man of seventy years — spent as 
an uncompromising teacher of truth and righteousness had made 
many personal enemies. He had exposed by his searching questions 
the ignorance of many a vain pretender to wisdom, and stirred up 
thereby many lasting resentments. 

Socrates, again, had offended many through his opposition to the 
Athenian democracy ; for he did not always approve of the way the 
Athenians had of doing things, and told them so plainly. He favored, 
for instance, the limitation of the franchise, and ridiculed the Athenian 
method of selecting magistrates by the use of the lot (sect. 238), as 
though the lot could pick out the men best fitted to govern. But 
the people, especially since the events of the years 404-403 b.c. 
(sect. 264), were very sensitive to all criticism of this kind which 



§267] THE BATTLE OF LEUCTRA 243 

tended to discredit their cherished democratic institutions. The fact 
that Alcibiades and Critias ^ had both been disciples of his was used 
to show the dangerous tendency of his teachings. 

The trial was before a dicastery or citizen court (sect. 242) com- 
posed of over five hundred jurors. Socrates made no serious attempt 
to secure a favorable verdict from the court, steadily refusing to make 
any unbecoming appeal to his judges for clemency. After he had been 
pronounced guilty, and when called upon, according to custom, to 
name the penalty which he would have the court inflict,^ he said that 
he thought he deserved to be supported for the rest of his life at the 
public expense. He finally, however, yielding to the entreaties of his 
friends, proposed a penalty of thirty minae.^ The dicasts, irritated 
by the words and manner of Socrates, pronounced against him by a 
majority vote the extreme sentence of death. 

It so happened that the sentence was pronounced just after the 
sacred ship that yearly bore the offerings to Delos in commemoration 
of the deliverance of the Athenian youth from the Cretan Minotaur 
(sect. 140) had set sail on its holy mission, and since by a law of the 
city no one could be put to death while it was away, Socrates was 
led to prison, and there remained for about thirty days before the 
execution of the sentence. This period Socrates spent in serene con- 
verse with his friends upon those lofty themes that had occupied his 
thoughts during all his life. When at last the hour for his departure 
had arrived, he bade his friends farewell, and then calmly drank the 
cup of poison hemlock. 

267. The Battle of Leuctra (371 B.C.); the End of the Spartan 
Supremacy. The crimes against the liberties of the Greek cities with 
which Sparta began the years of her supremacy were repeated, as 
she had opportunity, throughout the period.* One of her worst 

1 Critias was the leader of the Thirty Tyrants (sect. 264). 

2 The way of fixing the penalty in an Athenian court was this : the accuser named a 
penalty (in this case the prosecutor had named death) and then the condemned was at 
liberty to name another. The jury then chose between the two. 

8 A mina was equivalent to about $iS or ^20. 

■* During eight years of this period the chief cities of Greece, aided by the Persians, 
carried on a tedious struggle, known as the Corinthian War (395-387 B.C.), against 
Sparta. The war was ended by the so-called Peace of Antalcidas, which left Sparta's 
supremacy in European Greece unimpaired. 



244 



THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 



[§267 



crimes, and the one which brought about her undoing, was the 
treacherous seizure of the citadel of Thebes and the placing of a 
Spartan garrison in it. All Greece stood aghast at this perfidious 
and high-handed act, and looked to see some awful misfortune befall 
Sparta as a retribution. 

And misfortune came speedily enough, and not single-handed. 
The Spartan garrison was driven out of the citadel by an viprising 
led by Pelopidas, a Theban exile of distinguished family. A Spartan 
army was soon in Boeotia. The Thebans met the invaders at Leuctra. 

The Spartans had no other 



thought than that they should 
gain an easy victory. But 
the military genius of the 
Theban commander, Epami- 
nondas, had prepared for 
Hellas a startling surprise. 
Hitherto the Greeks had 
fought drawn up in extended 
and comparatively thin op- 
posing lines, not more than 
twelve ranks deep. The 
Spartans at Leuctra formed 
their line in the usual way. 
Epaminondas, on the other hand, massed his best troops in a solid 
column, that is, in a phalanx, fifty deep, on the left of his battle 
line, the rest being drawn up in the ordinary extended line. With 
all ready for the attack, the phalanx was set in motion first. It 
ploughed through the thin line of the enemy " as the beak of a 
ship ploughs through a wave " — and the day was won. Of the 
seven hundred Spartans in the fight four hundred were killed. 

The manner in which the news of the overwhelming calamity was 
received at Sparta affords a striking illustration of Spartan discipline 
and self-control. It so happened that when the messenger arrived 
the Spartans were celebrating a festival. The Ephors would permit 
no interruption of the entertainment. They merely sent lists of the 
fallen to their families and ordered that the women should make no 




Plan of the Battle of Leuctra, 
371 B.C. 



§268] THE THEBAN SUPREMACY 245 

lamentation nor show any signs of grief. " The following day," says 
Xenophon, " those who had lost relatives in the battle appeared 
on the streets with cheerful faces, while those whose relatives had 
escaped, if they appeared in public at all, went about with sad and 
dejected looks." When we contrast this scene at Sparta with that at 
Athens upon the night when the news of the disaster at yEgospotami 
was received (sect. 262), we are impressed with the wide interval 
which separated the Athenian from the Spartan. 

The moral effect of the battle was greater perhaps than that of any 
other battle ever fought in Greece, except possibly that of Marathon. 
It was the first time that a Spartan army with its king had been 
fairly beaten in a great battle by an enemy inferior in numbers (the 
Spartan forces at Thermopylae, headed by their king, had, it is true, 
been annihilated — but annihilation is not defeat). Consequently the 
impression which the event produced throughout Greece was pro- 
found. The prestige of Sparta was destroyed. Her leadership was 
brought to an end. 

268. The Theban Supremacy (371-362 B.C.). From the victory of 
Leuctra dates the short but brilliant period of Theban supremacy. 
The year after that battle Epaminondas led an army into the Pelo- 
ponnesus to aid the Arcadians against Sparta. Laconia was ravaged, 
and for the first time Spartan women saw the smoke of the camp 
fires of an enemy. 

From Laconia Epaminondas marched into Messenia. The emanci- 
pation of the Messenians from their Spartan masters was proclaimed, 
and Messenia, which for three hundred years had been a part of 
Laconia (sect. 176), was separated from Sparta and made an in- 
dependent state. The Helots, converted by the proclamation of 
emancipation into freemen, engaged in the work of building a new 
city, Messene, which was to represent their restored nationality. The 
walls went up amidst music and rejoicing. Messenian exiles, the 
victims of Spartan tyranny, flocked from all parts of the Hellenic 
world to rebuild their homes in the homeland. 

This emancipation and restoration of the Messenians forms one 
of the most interesting transactions in Greek history. Two years 
after their liberation a Messenian boy was crowned as a victor in 



246 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§268 

the foot race at Olympia. For three hundred years the Messenians 
had had neither lot nor part in these national games, for only free 
Hellenes could become contestants. How the news of the victory 
was received in Messenia is not recorded, but we probably should 
not be wrong were we to imagine the rejoicings there to have been 
unlike anything the Greek world had ever seen before. 

But, moved by jealousy of the rapidly growing power of Thebes, 
Athens now formed an alliance with her old rival, Sparta, against her. 
Three times more did Epaminondas lead an army into the Pelopon- 
nesus. Upon his last expedition he fought with the Spartans and 
Athenians the great battle of Mantinea, in Arcadia. On this memor- 
able field Epaminondas led the Thebans once more to victory ; but 
he himself was slain, and with him fell the hopes and power of 
Thebes (362 B.C.). 

All the chief cities of Greece now lay in a state of exhaustion or 
of helpless isolation. Sparta had destroyed the empire of Athens ; ^ 
Thebes had broken the dominion of Sparta, but had exhausted her- 
self in the effort. There was now no city energetic, resourceful, 
unbroken in spirit and strength, such as was Athens at the time 
of the Persian Wars, to act as leader and champion of the Greek 
states. Yet never was there greater need of such leadership in Hellas 
than at just this moment ; for the Macedonian monarchy was now 
rising in the north and threatening the independence of all Greece. 

In a succeeding chapter we shall trace the rise of this semibatbarian 
power, and tell how the cities of Greece, mutually exhausted by their 
incessant quarrels, were reduced to a state of dependence upon its 
sovereign. But first we shall turn aside for a moment from the 
affairs of the cities of Greece proper, in order to cast a glance 
upon the Greeks of Magna Graecia and Sicily. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Akibiades. Thucydides, ii, 35- 
46 (the funeral oration of Pericles) ; vi, 8-23 (the debate in the Athenian 
assembly on the proposed Sicilian expedition). Xenophon, Anabasis, iii, 2 
(a speech of Xenophon to his soldiers). Plato, Apology (the bearing of 
Socrates before his judges). Thallon's Readings, pp. 293-557 ; Davis's Readings 
(Greece), pp. 218-255; Fling's Source Book, pp. 174-285. 

1 Athens had indeed made herself the center of a new confederacy and had recovered 
some of her old possessions, but she was, after all, only the shadow of her former self. 



REFERENCES 247 

References (Modern). CuRTius,vols.iii, iv. Grote (ten-volume ed.), vols.v- 
viii. Abbott, vol. iii, chaps, iii-xii. Holm, vol. ii, chaps, xxi-xxviii ; vol. iii, 
chaps, i-xiii. Bury, History of Greece, chaps, x-xiv. Cox, History of Greece, 
vol. ii, pp. 104-594; and Lives of Greek Statesmen, " Kleon," " Brasidas," 
" Demosthenes," and " Nikias." Creasy, Decisive Battles of the World, chap, ii, 
"Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, B.C. 413." Sankey,- The Spartan and 
Theban Supremacies. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The Athenian army and navy : Tucker, Life 
in Ancient Athens, chap. x. 2. The condemnation of the Athenian generals 
after the battle of Arginusas (406 b. c.) ; see any comprehensive history of 
Greece. 3. " Festivals and the Theaters " : Tucker, Life in Aitcient Athens, 
chap. xii. 4. " An Athenian trial " : Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, chap. xiv. 
5. The trial and condemnation of Socrates: Grote, vol. vii, pp. 140-172. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
THE GREEKS OF WESTERN HELLAS 

(413-336 B.C.) 

269. The Carthaginians Lay Waste Hellenic Sicily. Shortly after 
the destruction of the Athenian army before Syracuse (sect. 261), 
the Carthaginians, finding their opportunity in the dissensions of the 
Greek cities, came into the island with a great army of one hundred 
thousand men. One city after another was taken by them, the greater 
part of the inhabitants being either massacred or sold into slavery 
and the walls and temples of the places destroyed. Throughout a 
considerable part of the island Hellenic civilization, planted centuries 
before, was virtually uprooted. As we shall see, the land afterwards 
recovered in a measure from the terrible blow, and enjoyed a short 
bloom of prosperity ; nevertheless the resources and energies of this 
part of the Hellenic world, like those of continental Greece through 
the unhappy causes we have recounted in other chapters, were 
impaired beyond permanent remedy. 

270. Dionysius I, Tyrant of Syracuse (405-367 B.C.). The alarm, 
distress, and anarchy occasioned by the Carthaginians afforded the 
opportunity at Syracuse for a man of low birth, named Dionysius, 
to usurp the government. His career as despot of the city was long 
and remarkable, embracing a period of thirty-eight years. Reducing 
the free Greek cities both in Sicily and in Magna Graecia to a state 
of dependence upon Syracuse, he built up an empire which included 
nearly all of Western Hellas. Syracuse was thus raised to a position 
of power and affluence corresponding to that which Athens had so 
recently held in Eastern Hellas. 

The object of universal detestation, Dionysius carried his life in 
his hands. The state of constant apprehension in which he hved 

248 



§271] 



TIMOLEON THE LIBERATOR 



249 



is illustrated by the story of the sword of Damocles.^ The Damoclean 
sword did not fall during the lifetime of Dionysius. He died a natural 
death, and transmitted his power to his son, who ascended the throne 
as Dionysius the Younger. 

271. Timoleon the Liberator (344-336 B.C.); the Golden Era of the 
Sicilian Greek Cities. The young Dionysius lacked the ability of his 
father to play the tyrant. His reign (367-343 B.C.) was a troubled 
one and was filled with all sorts of vicissitudes. Most of the Sicilian 
cities broke away from the empire. The Carthaginians began again 




Fig. 108. Coin of Syracuse 



to harass the island. Everything was in confusion, and distress 
among the people was universal. Under the stress of these circum- 
stances the Syracusans sent an embassy to Corinth, their mother 
city, for help to free themselves from the tyrant Dionysius. The 
Corinthians listened favorably to the appeal, and sent to the succor 
of the Syracusans a small force under the lead of Timoleon, a 
man who at home had shown his love for liberty by consenting to 
the death of his own brother when he attempted to make himself 
tyrant of Corinth. 

Arriving at Syracuse, Timoleon quickly drove out the tyrant and 
restored the government to the people. He also expelled the despots 

1 A courtier named Damocles having expressed to Dionysius the opinion that he 
must be supremely happy, the tyrant invited him to a sumptuous banquet, assigning to 
him his own place at the board. When the courtier was in the midst of the enjoyments 
of the table, Dionysius bade him look up. Turning his eyes towards the ceiling, Damocles 
was horrified at the sight of a sword, suspended by a single hair, dangling above his head. 
" Such," observed Dionysius, " is the life of a tyrant." 



250 THE GREEKS OF WESTERN HELLAS [§271 

who were holding in slavery other Greek cities in the island, and 
restored freedom to these places. Under the reign of liberty and 
order instituted by Timoleon, the half-depopulated cities began to fill 
with inhabitants. Exiles flocked back from all quarters. Corinth, 
mindful that Syracuse was her own daughter colony, gathered from 
all parts of Eastern Hellas colonists for the repeopling of the city. 
At one time ten thousand emigrants sailed together for Sicily. This 
great influx of population, and the new and unwonted courage and 
energy infused into the people by the beneficent measures of Timo- 
leon, brought to Hellenic Sicily a period of remarkable expansion 
and prosperity. 

With his great work of freeing and repeopling Sicily*accomplished, 
Timoleon resigned his authority and retired to private life. He died 
in the year 336 B.C., loved and revered by all the Sicilian Greeks as 
their liberator and benefactor. 

The golden age of the Sicilian Greek cities came to an end shortly 
after the death of Timoleon, and before the end of the third cen- 
tury B.C. they, together with the cities of Magna Graecia, had been 
brought into subjection to Rome. That part of the story we shall 
tell in later chapters. 

Having made this hasty review of the course of events in Western 
Hellas, we must now return to Greece proper in order to trace 
further the fortunes of the cities of the homeland. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Timoleon and Dio7i. 

References (Modern). Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. viii, pp. 366-495 ; vol. ix, 
pp. 1-194. Holm, vol. iii, chap. xi. Oman, History of G^-eece, chap, xxxvii. 
Allcroft and Masom, History of Sicily, chaps, vii-xi. Freeman, History of 
Sicily, vol. iv, chaps, x, xi, and The Sioty of Sicily, chaps, x, xi. An interest- 
ing brief treatment of the rule of Dionysius the Elder will be found in Bury, 
History of Greece, pp. 639-666. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Dionysius the Elder as a pioneer champion 
of European civilization against Semitic intruders : Bury, History of Greece, 
pp. 664-666. 2. Monuments of Greek civilization in Sicily: Richardson, 
Vacation Days in Greece, pp. 173-207. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE RISE OF MACEDONIA : REIGN OF PHILIP II 

(359-336 B.C.) 

272. The Macedonians and their Rulers. We have reached now 
the threshold of a new era in Greek history. A state, hitherto but 
little observed, at this time rose suddenly into prominence and began 
to play a leading part in the affairs of the Greek cities. This state 
was Macedonia, a country lying north of the Cambunian Mountains 
and back of Chalcidice (see map, p. 258). 

The peoples of Macedonia were for the most part mountaineers 
who had not yet passed beyond the tribal state.-^ They were a hardy, 
warlike race, possessing the habits and the virtues of country people. 
They were Aryans or Indo-Europeans in speech, and close kin to 
the Hellenic stock, if not really a branch of it, but since they did 
not speak pure Greek and were backward in culture, they were 
looked upon as barbarians by some of their more refined city 
kinsmen of the south. 

The ruling race in the country, however, were generally conceded 
to be of pure Hellenic stock. They claimed to be descended from 
the royal house of Argos, and this claim had been allowed by the 
Greeks, who had permitted them to appear as contestants in the 
Olympic games — a privilege, it will be recalled, accorded only to 
those who could prove pure Hellenic ancestry. Their efforts to 
spread Greek culture among their subjects, combined with inter- 
course with the Greek cities of Chalcidice, had resulted in the native 
barbarism of the Macedonian tribes being overlaid with a veneer of 
Hellenic civilization. 

1 There were, however, a few towns in Macedonia, of which /Egse and Pella, each of 
which was in turn the seat of the royal court, were of chief note. 

251 



252 THE RISE OF MACEDONIA [§273 

273. The Youth of Philip of Macedon. Macedonia first rose to 
importance during the reign of Philip II (359-336 B.C.), generally 
known as Philip of Macedon. He was a man of preeminent ability, 
of wonderful address in diplomacy, and of rare genius as an organizer 
and military chieftain. 

Several years of Philip's boyhood were passed as a hostage at 
Thebes. This episode in the life of the prince had a marked influ- 
ence upon his later career; for just at this time Epaminondas was 
the leading spirit among the Thebans, and it was in the companion- 
ship of this consummate military tactician and commander that Philip 
learned valuable lessons in the art of war. The Macedonian pha- 
lanx,-^ which Philip is said to have originated, and which holds some 
such place in the military history of Macedonia as the legion holds 
in that of Rome, was simply a modification of the Theban phalanx 
that won the day at Leuctra and again at Mantinea. 

Nor was this all. Besides the knowledge of military affairs which 
he acquired, the quick and observant boy gained during his enforced 
residence at Thebes an insight into Greek character and Greek poli- 
tics which served him well in his later diplomatic dealings with the 
Greek cities. 

With his kingdom settled and consolidated at home, Philip's 
ambition led him to seek the leadership of the Greek states. 

274. The Second Sacred War (355-346 B.C.). Philip quickly ex- 
tended his power over Thessaly, a large part of Thrace,^ and the 
Greek cities of Chalcidice. Meanwhile he was in the following 
way acquiring a commanding position in the affairs of the states 
of Greece proper. 

The Phocians had put to secular use some of the lands which at 
the end of the First Sacred War (sect. 162) had been consecrated 

1 The phalanx was formed of soldiers drawn up sixteen files deep and armed with 
pikes so long that those of the first five ranks projected beyond the front of the column, 
thus opposing a perfect thicket of spears to the enemy. On level ground and supported 
by strong cavalry it was irresistible. A Roman consul once declared that he "never 
beheld anything more alarming and terrible " (Polybius, xxix, 1 7) . 

2 In this quarter he founded the well-known city of Philippi. This was the first 
European city in which the Gospel was preached. The preacher was the Apostle Paul, 
who went over from Asia in obedience to a vision in which a man of Macedonia 
seemed to stand and pray, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us" (Acts xvi, 9), 



§275] 



BATTLE OF CHtERONEA 



253 



to the Delphian Apollo. Taken to task and heavily fined for this act 
by the other members of the Delphian Amphictyony, they took pos- 
session of the temple and used the treasure in the maintenance of a 
large force of mercenary soldiers.-^ The Amphictyons, being unable 
to punish them for their '' impiety," 
were forced to ask help of Philip, who 
gladly rendered the assistance sought. 

The Phocians were now quickly sub- 
dued. All but one of their cities were 
broken up into villages, and the inhab- 
itants were forced to undertake to re- 
pay in yearly instalments the treasure 
they had taken from the Delphian 
shrine. The place that the Phocians 
had held in the Delphian Amphictyony 
was given to Philip, upon whom was 
also bestowed the privilege of presiding 
at the Pythian games. The position he 
had now secured was just what Philip 
had coveted in order that he might 
use it to make himself master of all 
Greece. 

275. Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.). 
Demosthenes at Athens was one of the 
few who seemed to understand the real 
designs of Philip. With all the energy 
of his wonderful eloquence he strove to 
stir up the Athenians to resist his en- 
croachments. He hurled against him 
his famous " Philippics," speeches so 

filled with fierce denunciation that they have given name to all 
writings characterized by bitter criticism or violent invective. 

Moved by the realization of a common peril and by the persuasion 
of Demosthenes, the Athenians and the Thebans, in spite of their 
immemorial enmity one towards the other, now united their forces 

1 The Phocians claimed that they took the treasure merely as a loan. 




Fig. 109. Demosthenes 
(Vatican Museum) 

" If thy power, Demosthenes, had 

been as great as thy spirit never 

had Hellas bowed before the 

Macedonian sword." — Plutarch 



254 THE RISE OF MACEDONIA [§276 

and met Philip at Chasronea, in Boeotia. The battle was stubbornly 
fought, but finally went against the allies, who were driven from the 
field with heavy loss. It is of interest to note that the Macedonian 
phalanx was led by the youthful Alexander, the son of Philip, who 
on this memorable field began his great career as a commander. The 
result of the battle was the subjection of all Greece to the authority 
of the Macedonian foreigner. " The drama [shall we call it a 
tragedy ?] was now* at an end." 

276. The Congress at Corinth (338 B.C.); Plan to Invade Asia. 
Soon after the battle of Chasronea, Philip convened at Corinth a 
council of the Greek states. At this meeting was adopted a consti- 
tution, drafted by Philip, which united the various Greek cities 
(Sparta alone held aloof) and Macedonia in a sort of federation, 
with Macedonia as the leading state. Differences arising between 
members of the federation were to be referred for settlement to 
the Amphictyonic assembly. 

But Philip's main object in calling the congress was not so much 
to promulgate a federal constitution for the Greek cities as to secure 
their aid in an expedition which he had evidently long been meditat- 
ing for the conquest of the Persian Empire. The exploit of the Ten 
Thousand Greeks (sect. 265) had shown the feasibility of such an 
undertaking. The plan was indorsed by a second meeting of the 
congress (337 B.C.). Every Greek city was to furnish a contingent 
for the army of invasion. Philip was chosen leader of the expedition, 
and commander-in-chief of the war forces of Greece. 

All Greece M^as now astir with preparations for the great enter- 
prise. By the spring of the year 336 B.C. the expedition was ready 
to move, and the advance forces had already crossed over into Asia, 
when Philip, during the festivities attending the marriage of his 
daughter, was assassinated and his son Alexander succeeded to 
his place and power. 

277. Results of Philip's Reign. Philip by his achievements made 
possible the greater achievements of his son. He paved the way 
for Alexander's remarkable conquests by consolidating the Mace- 
donian monarchy and organizing an army which was the most 
effective instrument of warfare the world had yet seen. But the 



§277] RESULTS OF PHILIP'S REIGN 255 

most important outcome of Philip's activity and policy was the union 
of the Macedonian monarchical and military system with Hellenic 
culture. This was the historical mission of Philip. Had not Hellenic 
civilization been thus incorporated with the Macedonian system, then 
the wide conquests of Alexander would have resulted in no more 
good for humanity than those of an Attila or a Tamerlane.-^ Greece 
conquered the world by being conquered. It was Hellenic institu- 
tions, customs, and manners, the Hellenig language and civilization, 
which the extended conquests of Alexander spread throughout the 
Eastern world. It is this which makes the short-lived Macedonian 
Empire so important a factor in universal history. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Demosthenes. Demosthenes, 
Orations on the Croiv7t (this masterpiece of Demosthenes has been called 
" The funeral oration of extinct Athenian and Grecian freedom "). Thallon's 
Readings, pp. 539-621 ; Davis's Readings (Greece), pp. 2S4-297 ; Fling's Soiore 
Book, pp. 286-294. 

References (Modern). Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. ix, pp. 195-504. Cur- 
Tius, vol. V. Holm, vol. iii, chaps, xiv-xix. Hogarth, Philip and Alexander 
of Macedon (first part). 'B\i'S.\, History of Greece, '^■^. d'ii-'jy]. OM.h.'^, Histo}y 
of Greece, pp. 490-520. Allcroft and Masom, Decline of Hellas, pp. 32-104. 
Curteis, Rise of the Macedonian Etnpire, chaps, i-viii. Pickard-Cambridge, 
Detnosthenes. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The youth and training of Demosthenes: 
Pickard-Cambridge, Demosthenes, chap. i. 2. Imperialism vs. Home Rule ; or 
was Demosthenes' policy of opposition to Philip wise ? Mahaffy, Problems in 
Greek History, chap, vii, " Practical Politics in the Fourth Century." 

1 Mongol or Turanian conquerors. 



CHAPTER XXV 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

(336-323 B.C.) 

278. The Youth of Alexander; Formative Influences. Alexander 
was only twenty years of age when he came to his father's throne. 
Those traits of temper and mind which marked his manhood and 
which fitted him to play so great a part in history were foreshown 
in early youth — if we may believe the tales that are told of his say- 
ings and doings as a boy. The familiar story of the fractious steed 
Bucephalus, which none dared either to mount or to approach, but 
which was subdued in a moment by the skillful handling of the little 
prince, reveals that self-reliance and passion for achievement and 
command which in after years gave him mastery of the world. The 
spirit of the man is again shown in the complaint of the boy when 
news of his father's victories came to him : " Boys," said he to his 
playmates, '' my father will get ahead of us in everything, and will 
leave nothing great for you or me to do." 

Certain cultural influences under which the boy came in his earliest 
years left a permanent impress upon his mind and character. By 
his mother Olympias, an Epirote princess, from whom doubtless he 
inherited his ardent, passionate nature, he was taught to trace his 
descent from the great Achilles, and was incited to emulate the 
exploits of that hero and to make him his model in all things. The 
Iliad, which recounts the deeds of Achilles, became the prince's 
inseparable companion. 

After his mother's influence, perhaps that of the philosopher Aris- 
totle, whom Philip persuaded to become the tutor of the youthful 
Alexander, was the most potent and formative. This great teacher 
implanted in the mind of the young prince a love of literature 
and philosophy, and through his inspiring companionship and lofty 

256 



§279] 



BEGINNING OF THE REIGN 



257 



conversation exercised over the eager, impulsive boy an influence for 
good which Alexander himself gratefully acknowledged in later years. 

279. Troubles attending the Accession of Alexander. For about 
two years after his accession to the Macedonian throne, Alexander 
was kept busy in thwarting conspiracies and suppressing open revolts 
against his authority. 

While the young king was campaigning against some barbarian 
tribes on his northern frontier a report was spread in Greece that 
he was dead. The Thebans rose in revolt and 
called upon the Athenians to join them. De- 
mosthenes favored the appeal, and began to 
stir up the Athenians and others to unite with 
the Thebans in freeing the Grecian land from 
the foreigners. 

But Alexander was not dead. Before the 
Greek cities had settled upon any plan of con- 
certed action, Alexander with his army was in 
front of Thebes. In a sharp battle outside 
the gates the Thebans were defeated and their 
city was captured. As a warning to the other 
Greek towns, Alexander leveled the city to the 
ground, sparing only the temples and the 
house of the poet Pindar, and sold thirty thou- 
sand of the inhabitants into slavery. Thus was one of the largest 
and most renowned of the cities of Greece wiped out of existence. 

280. Alexander Crosses the Hellespont ; the Battle of the Granicus 
(334B.C.). Alexander was now free to carry out his father's scheme in 
regard to the Asiatic expedition. In the spring of 334 B.C., with all his 
plans matured, he set out at the head of an army numbering about 
thirty-five thousand men, for the conquest of the Persian Empire. 

Crossing the Hellespont, Alexander first proceeded to the plain 
of ancient Troy, in order to place a garland upon the supposed tomb 
at that place of his mythical ancestor Achilles. 

Proceeding on his march, Alexander met a Persian army on the 
banks of the Granicus, over which he gained a decisive victory. All 
Asia Minor now lay open to the invader, and soon virtually all 




Fig. 1 10. Alexander 

THE Great 
(Capitoline Museum) 



258 ALEXANDER THE GREAT [§281 

of its cities and tribes were brought to acknowledge the authority 
of the Macedonian.^ 

281. The Battle of Issus (333 B.C.). At the northeast corner of 
the Mediterranean lies the plain of Issus. Here Alexander met a 
Persian army, numbering, it is said, six hundred thousand men, and 
inflicted upon it an overwhelming defeat. The king ^ himself escaped 
from the field, and hastened to his capital Susa to raise another 
army to oppose the march of the conqueror. 

282. The Siege of Tyre (332 B.C.). Alexander now turned to the 
south, in order to effect the subjugation of Phoenicia, that he might 
command the Phoenician fleets and prevent their being used either 
to sever his communication with Greece or to aid revolts in the 
cities there against his authority. The island-city of Tyre, after a 
memorable siege, was taken by means of a mole, or causeway, built 
with incredible labor through the sea to the city. It still remains, 
uniting the rock with the mainland. 

When at last the city was taken after a siege of seven months, 
eight thousand of the inhabitants were slain and thirty thousand sold 
into slavery — a terrible warning to those cities that should dare to 
close their gates agamst the Macedonian. After the fall of Tyre the 
cities of Palestine and Philistia, with the sole exception of Gaza, sur- 
rendered at once to the conqueror. Gaza resisted stubbornly, but 
after a siege of three months the city was taken and its inhabitants 
were sold as slaves. 

283. Alexander in Egypt. With the cities of Phoenicia and the 
fleets of the Mediterranean subject to his control, Alexander easily 
effected the reduction of Egypt. The Egyptians, indeed, made no 
resistance, but willingly exchanged masters. 

While in Egypt, Alexander founded at one of the mouths of the 
Nile a city named, after himself, Alexandria. Ranke declares this to 

1 At Gordium, in Phrygia, Alexander performed an exploit which has given the 
world one of its favorite apothegms. In the temple at this place was a chariot to the 
pole of which a yoke was fastened by a curiously intricate knot. An oracle had been 
spread abroad to the effect that whoever should untie the knot would become master of 
Asia. Alexander attempted the feat. Unable to loosen the knot, he drew his sword 
and cut it. Hence the phrase mtting the Gordian knot, meaning a short way out of a 
difficulty. 2 Darius III (sumamed Codomannus), 336-330 B.C. 




EMPIRE OF 

ALEXANDER THE ( 

ATiout 323 B. C. 

March of Alexaacler:. 
5p 100 200 300 '1 00 

Scale ofTUiles. 




"J 


■, ^^^Persepohs 




\ -^^W^' 


r-S 


"X Pasaigmh)^^*^ 


\ 






k-A '-'. 1/ 



AuthorUies: — 

H. Kieperl, Alias Anliquus 
W. Slegliii, Alias Jntiquue 



50 from Greenwich 55 



§284] THE BATTLE OF ARBELA 259 

have been the " first city in the world, after the Piraeus, erected ex- 
pressly for purposes of commerce." The city became the meeting 
place of the East and the West ; and its importance through many 
centuries attests the farsighted wisdom of its founder. 

A less worthy enterprise of the conqueror was his expedition to the 
oasis of Siwa, located in the Libyan desert, where were a celebrated 
temple and oracle of Zeus Ammon. To gratify his own conceit, as 
well as to impress his new oriental subjects, and especially to qualify 
himself as the legitimate successor of the divine Pharaohs (sect. 31), 
Alexander evidently desired to be declared of celestial descent. The 
priests of the temple, in accordance with the wish of the king, gave 
out that the oracle pronounced Alexander to be the son of Zeus and 
the destined ruler of the world. It would seem that Alexander was 
quite fully persuaded that, like the early Greek heroes, he was allied 
to the race of the gods. 

284. The Battle of Arbela (331 B.C.). From Egypt Alexander 
retraced his steps to Syria and marched eastward. At Arbela, not 
far from the ancient Nineveh, his farther advance was disputed by 
Darius with an immense army, numbering, if we may rely upon our 
authorities, over a million men. The vast Persian host was overthrown 
with enormous slaughter. Darius fled from the field, as he had done 
at Issus, and later was treacherously killed by an attendant. 

The battle of Arbela was one of the decisive combats of history. 
It marked the end of the long struggle between the East and the 
West, between Persia and Greece, and prepared the way for the 
spread of Hellenic civilization over all western Asia. 

285. Alexander at Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. From the field 
of Arbela Alexander marched south to Babylon, which opened its 
gates to him without opposition. Susa was next entered by the 
conqueror. Here he seized immense quantities of gold and silver, 
the treasure of the Great King. He also found here and sent 
back to Athens the bronze statues of Harmodius and Aristogiton^ 
(sect. 203), which had been carried off by Xerxes at the time of the 
invasion of Greece. 

1 So Arrian, iii, i6. Other authorities, however, make it to have been some successor 
of Alexander who returned the statues. 



26o ALEXANDER THE GREAT [§286 

From Susa Alexander's march was next directed to Persepolis, 
where he secured a treasure more than twice as great as that found 
at Susa. Upon Persepohs Alexander wreaked vengeance for all that 
Greece had suffered at the hands of the Persians. Many of the 
inhabitants were massacred and others were sold into slavery, while 
the palace of Darius was given to the flames.-' 

Alexander having thus overthrown the power of Darius now began 
to regard himself not only as his conqueror but as his successor, and 
was thus looked upon by the Persians. He assumed the pomp and 
state of an oriental monarch, and required the most obsequious hom- 
age from all who approached him. His Greek and Macedonian com- 
panions, unused to paying such servile adulation to their king, were 
much displeased at Alexander's conduct, and from this time on to his 
death intrigues and conspiracies were being constantly formed among 
them against his power and life.^ 

286. Conquest of Bactria and Sogdiana (329-328 B.C.). After the 
death of Darius (sect. 284), Alexander led his army towards the east, 
and, after subduing many tribes that dwelt about the southern shore 
of the Caspian Sea and in the mountainous regions of what is now 
known as Afghanistan, boldly conducted his soldiers over the snowy 
and dangerous passes of the Hindu Kush, and descended into the 
province of Bactria (which region some believe to have been the early 
home of the primitive Aryan community). Alexander wished to be- 
come master of this country because it was the sacred land of the 
Persian religion. After the reduction of this region, Alexander subdued 
the tribes of Sogdiana, a country lying still farther to the north. 

Throughout these remote regions Alexander founded numerous 
cities, several of which bore his own name. One of them is said to 
have been built, wall and houses, in twenty days. These new cities 
were peopled with captives, and by those veterans who, because of 
fatigue or wounds, were no longer able to follow the conqueror in his 
swift campaigns. 

1 Diodorus, xxvii, 7; Plutarch, Alexander, xxxviii ; and Arrian, Atiabasis, iii, 18, all 
agree that the palace was burned to ashes. Read Dryden's Alexander's Feast. 

2 For complicity in one of these plots Alexander put to death one of his ablest 
generals, Parmenio, and for scoffing at his pretensions killed with his own hand his 
dearest friend CUtus (sect. 286). 



§287] CONQUESTS IN INDIA 261 

Alexander's stay in Sogdiana was saddened by his murder of his 
dearest friend Clitus, who had saved his life at the Granicus. Both 
were heated with wine when the quarrel arose ; after the deed 
Alexander was overwhelmed with remorse.^ 

287. Conquests in India. With the countries north of the Hindu 
Kush subdued and settled,^ Alexander recrossed the rr^ountains and 
led his army down into the rich and crowded plains of India (327 B.C.). 
Here again he showed himself invincible, and received the submission 
of many of the native princes of the country. Alexander's desire was 
to extend his conquests to the Ganges, but his soldiers began to mur- 
mur because of the length and hardness of their campaigns, and he 
reluctantly gave up the undertaking. To secure the conquests already 
made, he founded, at different points in the valley of the Indus, Greek 
towns and colonies. One of these he named Alexandria, after himself; 
another Bucephala, in memory of his favorite steed — the mettlesome 
Bucephalus that he as a boy had so easily subdued ; and still another 
Nicaea, for his victories. The modern museum at Lahore contains 
many relics of Greek art dug up on the sites of these Macedonian 
cities and camps. 

288. Rediscovery of the Sea Route from the Indus to the Euphrates. 
It was Alexander's next care to bind these distant conquests in the 
East to those in the West. To do this, it was of the first importance 
to establish water communication between India and Babylonia. Now, 
strange as it may seem, the Greeks had no positive knowledge of what 
sea the Indus emptied into, and only a vague idea that there was a 
waterway from the Indus to the Euphrates.^ This important mari- 
time route, once known to the civilized world, had been lost, and 
needed to be rediscovered. 

So the conqueror Alexander now turned explorer. He sailed down 
the Indus to its mouth, and was rejoiced to find himself looking out 

1 " Alexander was great because he was able to repent." — HoL^f 

2 The Macedonian kingdom which grew out of the conquests of Alexander in central 
Asia lasted for about two centuries after his death. Traditions of the conqueror still linger 
in the land, and coins and plate with subjects from classic mythology are frequently turned 
up at the present day. 

3 According to Arrian, when Alexander reached the Indus he at first thought that 
he had struck the upper course of the Nile. The presence in the river of crocodiles 
like those in Egypt was one thing that led him to this conclusion {Anabasis, vi, i). 



262 ALEXANDER THE GREAT [§289 

upon the southern ocean. He now dispatched his trusty admiral 
Nearclius with a considerable fleet to explore this sea and to deter- 
mine whether it communicated with the Euphrates. He himself, with 
the larger part of the army, marched westward along the coast. His 
march thus lay through the ancient Gedrosia, now Baluchistan, a region 
frightful with burning deserts,^ amidst which his soldiers endured 
almost incredible j^rivations and sufferings. 

After a trying and calamitous march of over two months, Alexander, 
with the survivors of his army, reached Carmania. Here, to his un- 
bounded joy, he was joined by Nearchus, who had made the voyage 
from the Indus successfully, and thus " rediscovered one of the most 
important maritime routes of the world," the knowledge of which 
among the Western nations was never again to be lost. 

'I'o celebrate appropriately his conquests and discoveries, Alexander 
instituted a series of religious festivals, amidst which his soldiers for- 
got the dangers of their numberless battles and the hardships of their 
unparalleled marches, which had put to the test every power of human 
endurance. In a few years they had conquered half the world and 
changed the whole course of history. 

289. The Plans of Alexander; the Hellenizing of the World. As 
the capital of his vast empire, which now stretched from the Ionian 
Sea to the Indus, Alexander chose the ancient Babylon, upon the 
Euphrates. He proposed to make this old Semitic city the center 
of his dominions for the reason that such a location of the seat of 
government would help to promote his plans, which aimed at noth- 
ing less than the union and Hellenizing of the world. Not only 
were the peoples of Asia and Europe to be blended by means of 
colonies, but even the floras of the two continents were to be inter- 
mingled by the transplanting of plants and trees from one continent 
to the other. Common laws and customs were to unite the nations 
into one great family. Intermarriages were to blend the races. 
Alexander himself married two Bersian princesses ; to ten thousand 
of his soldiers, whom he encouraged to take Asiatic wives, he gave 
magnificent gifts. 

1 " After Alexander's experience rto European is known to have penetrated it down 
to the present century." — Wiihelkk, Alexander the Cirnt (u)oo), p. 466 



§290] THE MUTINY AT OPIS 263 

290. The Mutiny at Opis (324 B.C.). Not all the old soldiers of 
Alexander approved of his plans and measures, particularly since in 
these magnificent projects they seemed to be relegated to a second 
place. His Macedonian veterans especially were greatly displeased 
that he should enlist in his service effeminate Asiatics, and dress and 
equip them in the Macedonian fashion. They also disai:)provcd of 
Alexander's action in wearing the ]*crsian costume and surrounding 
himself with Persian attendants. So when Alexander proposed to 
send back to Macedonia the aged and the maimed among his veterans, 
the soldiers broke out in open mutiny. 

Alexander caused the movers of the sedition to be executed, and 
then made to the mutinous soldiers a speech such as they had never 
listened to before. He recalled to their minds how his father Philip 
had found them vagabond shepherds tending a few sheep on the 
mountain-sides in Macedonia, and had made them conquerors and 
rulers of all Thrace and Greece ; and how he himself had made 
them conquerors of the empire of the Great King, the possessors 
of the riches of the world and the envied of all mankind.* 

By these words the mutinous spirit of the soldiers was completely 
subdued, and with every expression of contrition for their fault and 
of devotion to their old commander they begged for forgiveness and 
reinstatement in his favor. Alexander was moved by their entreaties, 
and gave them assurances that they were once more his companions 
and kinsmen. The reconciliation was celebrated by a magnificent 
banquet in which more than nine thousand participated.'^ 

291. The Death of Alexander (323 B.C.). In the midst of his vast 
projects Alexander was seized by a fever and died at l^abylon, 
323 n.c, in the thirty-second year of his age. His soldiers could 
not let him die without seeing him. The watchers of the palace 
were obliged to open the doors to them, and the veterans of a 

1 Arrian, Anabasis, vii, 9, 10. 

2 It was soon after this meeting that Alexander's dearest friend, Ilephaistion, died 
at Ecbatana. Alexander indulged in most extravagant expressions of grief. He caused 
a funeral pyre to be erected at a cost, it is said, of 10,000 talents (;f 12,000,000), and 
instituted in memory of his friend magnificent funeral games. Me even ordered the 
tops of the towers of the surrounding cities to be cut off, and the horses and mules to 
be put in mourning by having their manes docked. 



264 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 



[§292 



hundred battlefields filed sorrowfully past the couch of their dying 
commander. His body was carried first to Memphis, but afterwards 
it was taken to Alexandria, in Egypt, and there inclosed in a golden 
coffin, over which was raised a splendid mausoleum. His ambition 
for celestial honors was gratified in his death, for in Egypt and else- 
where temples were dedicated to him and divine worship was paid 
to his statues. 

292. Results of Alexander's Conquests. The remarkable conquests 
of Alexander had important and far-reaching consequences. First, 




'"I" ' 'l«Jl«(W/ 







' <ij \\ "f'^Y '"'''"'" 



i"^f^<?t! 



Ill'll il Ill "1 



,,).. ■„ .A?. SJ...> ...V A, A..,. !^,U^,,A>MB 



Fig. III. The So-called Sarcophagus of Alexander 
(Constantinople Museum) 

The finest of sixteen sarcophagi found at Sidon in 1887. " This is the most exquisite 
sarcophagus that the world has ever seen" (Richardson). Its delicate coloring is still 

well preserved 



they ended the long struggle between Persia and Greece, and spread 
Hellenic civilization over Egypt and western Asia. 

Second, the distinction between Greek and barbarian was obliter- 
ated, and the sympathies of men, hitherto so narrow and local, 
were widened, and thus an important preparation was made for 
the reception of the Christian creed of universal brotherhood. 

Third, the world was given a universal language of culture, which 
was a further preparation for the spread of Christian teachings. 



§292] RESULTS OF ALEXANDER'S CONQUESTS 265 

" Without the introduction of Greek civilization into the East 
Christianity would never have been able to take root." ^ 

Fourth, the sea route from India to Europe was rediscovered. 
This the historian Ranke, on account of its influence upon trade and 
commerce, views as one of the most important results of Alexander's 
expedition. 

But the evil effects of these conquests were also positive and far- 
reaching. The sudden acquisition by the Greeks of the enormous 
wealth of the Persian Empire, and contact with the vices and the 
effeminate luxury of the oriental nations, had a most demoralizing 
effect upon Hellenic life. Greece became corrupt, and she in turn 
corrupted Rome. Thus the civilization of classical antiquity was 
undermined. 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Alexander. Arrian, Anabasis of 
Alexander, vii, 9 (Alexander's speech to his soldiers reminding them of the 
debt they owe to his father); vii, 28-30 (for an estimate of Alexander's char- 
acter). Davis's Readings (Greece), pp. 29S-321 ; Fling's Source Book, 296-328. 

References (Modern). Wheeler, Alexander the Great; affords a most inter- 
esting and scholarly treatment of our subject. Dodge, Alexander. Hogarth, 
Philip and Alexander of Jllacedon (last part). Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civi- 
lization, chap, viii (first part) ; 77^^? Sto7y of Alexander''s Empire, chaps, i-v ; 
and Greek Life and Thought, chap. ii. Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. ix, pp. 505- 
549; vol. X, pp. 1-212. Holm, vol. iii, chaps, xx-xxvii. Hogarth, The Ancient 
East, chap. v. Bury, History of Greece, pp. 738-836. Curteis, Rise of the 
Macedonian Empire (later chapters). Freeman, Historical Essays (Second 
Series), "Alexander." 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Alexander's visit to the oracle of Zeus 
Ammon : Wheeler, Alexander the Great, chap. xxi. 2. Alexander's letter to 
Darius: Bury, History of Greece, pp. 761, 762. 3. "The marriage of Europe 
and Asia": Wheeler, Alexander the Great, chap, xxx, pp. 476-479. 

1 Holm, History of Greece (1900), vol. iii, p. 397. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE GRiECO-ORIENTAL WORLD FROM THE DEATH OF 

ALEXANDER TO THE CONQUEST OF GREECE 

BY THE ROMANS 

(323-146 B.C.) 
I. HELLENISTIC CULTURE 

293. The Three Epochs of Greek Colonization. It has already been 
noticed that the most important result of the conquests of Alexander 
was the spreading of Greek culture over the countries of the Near 
East. This movement eastward of Greek civilization will be seen in 
its true historical relations only when it is viewed as the third expan- 
sion and colonization movement of the Greek race. The first move- 
ment took place in the twilight period between the prehistoric and 
the historic age (sect. 152). Establishing a Greek population on the 
western shores of Asia Minor and on the neighboring islands, it made 
the ^gean a Greek lake and doubled the area of Greek lands. 

The second colonization movement (Chapter XVI), which went 
on in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., planted Greek colonies 
on almost every shore of the Mediterranean and the Euxine, and 
made the selvage lands of a great part of the ancient Mediterranean 
world the arena of Greek enterprise and Greek achievement. 

The third expansion and colonizing movement, with which we 
shall deal in the present chapter, and which was made possible 
by the breaking down of the barrier of the Persian Empire by the 
conquests of Alexander, overflowed all the culture lands of the 
Orient — Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt — and once 
more enlarged vastly the sphere of Greek life and Greek activity. 

294. The Hellenizing of the Orient: Hellenistic Culture. The 
results of this third Greek colonizing movement were quite different 
from those of the two earlier expansions. The settlement by Greeks 

266 



§295] THE TWO AGENCIES IN GREEK CULTURE 267 

in the first colonization epoch on the western shore-lands of Asia 
Minor resulted in the establishing there of a civilization which was 
essentially Hellenic, although, as we have seen, ^olian and Ionian 
culture were undoubtedly deeply tinged with non-Hellenic racial and 
cultural elements. Likewise, the numerous Greek colonies founded 
during the second expansion age, although in some cases the Greek 
settlers mingled with the ruder native populations, kept for the most 
part pure and unmixed, if not their Hellenic blood, at least their 
Hellenic culture. 

In the third great colonizing epoch, however, the new cities were 
founded generally in the midst of a dense native population more or 
less advanced in civilization. In this environment Hellenic culture 
in all its elements — language, arts, manners and customs, ways of 
living and ways of thinking — inevitably became modified, in some 
countries less, in others more. We indicate this changed character 
of the civilization by calling it Hellenistic^ thereby distinguishing it 
from the pure HeUenic culture of Greece. 

The formation of this Hellenistic or Graeco-oriental culture is one 
of the great matters of universal history, a matter like the formation 
later of the Graeco-Roman civilization in the great melting-pot of the 
world-empire of Rome, and of the Romano-German civilization in 
the Europe of the Middle Ages." 

295. The Two Agencies in the Dissemination of Greek Culture. It 
was chiefly through two agencies that the Greek language and arts and 
Greek letters were spread throughout the Orient. These were, first, the 
courts of the successors of Alexander which were established in Asia 
Minor, Syria, and Egypt ; and second, the hundreds of Greek cities 
which were founded throughout all the regions included in the king- 
doms of these Grasco-Macedonian rulers. Each court and each city was 
the radiating center of Greek culture and arts. The cities, however, 

1 From Hellenist, a non-Greek who adopts the Greek language and imitates Greek 
manners and customs. 

2 The meeting again of European and Asian cultures in the countries (Japan, China, 
and India) of the Far East will repeat, indeed is repeating, the history of these great 
cultural blends of the past. The final issue of these blendings must be a world-culture 
which will have assimilated and unified the best elements of all the separately developed 
civilizations. 



268 THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§296 

were the more effective of the two agencies in the spread of the 
Greek civilization, and of these we must here speak more in detail. 

296. Cities of the Hellenistic Age. As has been seen, Alexander 
founded a great number of cities. His successors in general fol- 
lowed his example, and some of them became celebrated as city- 
builders. These new cities were established all along the western 
and southern coasts of Asia Minor, upon the banks of the rivers of 
the different regions, along the main routes of travel, and at all the 
strategic points of trade and commerce. Many of these cities were 
entirely new foundations, others were old cities reconstructed and 
given Greek names. They were furnished and adorned with Greek 
temples, theaters, gymnasia, and covered colonnades. They had con- 
stitutions and laws, councils and popular assemblies, like those of 
the old city-states of Hellas. It is probable that in many, if not in 
most, cases only the Greeks — who ordinarily could have formed but 
a small part of the population — were citizens with full rights. 

One thing in regard to these cities of the Hellenistic Age should 
be carefully noted. They were not in general independent city-states 
like those of pre-Macedonian Hellas, but rather what we should call 
free municipalities. They were included in the territories of the king- 
doms of the successors of Alexander, and enjoyed home rule, that is, 
the management of their own local affairs, but had nothing to do with 
foreign or international matters. 

In the remaining paragraphs of this chapter we shall state some 
facts concerning the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic 
period, and speak of the most noteworthy matters in the history of 
continental Greece and of the leading kingdoms that resulted from 
the break-up of the empire of Alexander. 

II. MACEDONIA 

297. The Break-up of Alexander's Empire. There was no one 
who could wield the sword that fell from the hand of Alexander. 
Before the close of the fourth century b.c. the vast empire created 
by his unparalleled conquests had become broken into many frag- 
ments. Besides minor states, three kingdoms of special importance, 



§298] MACEDONIA AND ROME 269 

centering in Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, rose oiit of the ruins. All 
were finally overwhelmed by the now rapidly rising power of Rome. 

298. Macedonia and Rome. The story of Macedonia from the death 
of Alexander on to the conquest of the country by the Romans is made 
up largely of the quarrels and crimes of rival aspirants for the crown 
that Philip and Alexander had worn. During a great part of the 
period the successive Macedonian kings were exercising or attempt- 
ing to exercise authority over the cities of Greece. Respecting the 
extent of their power or influence in the peninsula we shall find it 
more convenient to speak in the following section. 

Macedonia was one of the first countries east of the Adriatic to 
come in hostile contact with the great military republic of the West. 
After much intrigue and a series of wars, the country was eventually 
brought into subjection to the Italian power and made into a Roman 
province (146 B.C.). A large part of the population were sold as 
slaves. Not a man of note was left in the country. The great but 
short role Macedonia had played in history was ended. 

III. CONTINENTAL GREECE 

299. Greek Freedom and Demosthenes. From the subjection of 
Greece by Philip of Macedon to the absorption of Macedonia into 
the growing dominions of Rome, the Greek cities of the peninsula 
were, as we have said, much of the time, at least, under the real or 
nominal overlordship of the Macedonian kings. But the Greeks 
were never made for royal subjects, and consequently they were in a 
state of chronic revolt against this foreign authority. 

Thus no sooner had they heard of the death of Alexander than 
several of the Greek states rose against Antipater, the general whom 
Alexander had intrusted with the government of Macedonia. The 
struggle ended disastrously for the Greeks, and Demosthenes, who 
had been the soul of the movement, to escape falling into the hands 
of Antipater, put an end to his own life by means of poison. 

300. The Celtic Invasion (278 B.C.). The next matter of moment 
in the history of Greece was an invasion of the Gauls, kinsmen of the 
Celtic tribes that about a century before this time had sacked the city 



270 THE GRyECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 301 

of Rome. These terrible marauders, pouring down from the north, 
ravaged Greece as far south as Delphi and the Pass of Thermopylae. 
If we may believe the Greek accounts, they met with heroic re- 
sistance and were driven back with great loss. A little later some of 
the tribes settled in Asia Minor and there gave name to the province 
of Galatia.^ 

301. The Achaean and .ffitolian Leagues. In the third century B.C. 
there arose in Greece two important confederacies, known as the 
Achaean and yEtolian leagues, whose history embraces almost every 
matter of interest and instruction in the later political life of the 
Greek cities.^ These late attempts at federation among the Grecian 
cities were one expression of that tendency towards nationalism that 
marks this period of Greek history. They were fostered by the in- 
tense desire of all patriotic Hellenes to free themselves from the 
hated arbitership of Macedonia. The Greeks had learned at last — 
but unhappily too late — that the liberty they prized so highly could 
be maintained only through union. 

The Achaean League (281-146 b.c.) was in its beginnings simply 
a revival of a very ancient religious union of the cities of Ach^a, but 
it came finally to embrace all the states of the Peloponnesus ^ as well 
as some cities beyond its limits. It was one of the most successful 
efforts ever made to unite the Greek cities into a real federal state in 
which all the members should enjoy perfect equality of rights and 
privileges.'* 

The ^tolian League, established about 280 b.c, was composed of 
tribes — chiefly the half-civilized mountain tribes of Central Greece. 
Its chieftains displayed little of the statesmanship evinced by the 

1 It was to these people that St. Paul addressed one of his epistles (see the Epistle 
to the Galatians). 

2 For a study of these confederations, the first of which was very much like our own 
federal union, and which in truth served in a measure as a model to the framers of our 
Constitution (both Hamilton and Madison made a careful study of it), consult Freeman's 
work entitled History of Federal ConstiUitions. 

3 Sparta became a member of the league in 192 B.C. (Polybius, xxiii, 17, 18). 

^ The chief promoters of the movement were Aratus (271-213 B.C.) and Philopcemen 
(about 252-183 B.C.), both of whom were trusted generals of the league and men of 
eminent ability and enlightened patriotism. Pausanias calls Philopcemen " the last of the 
Greeks," while Plutarch says that Greece loved him as " the last great man born of her 
old age." 



§302] ATHENS AS A UNIVERSITY CITY 271 

leaders of the Achaean League, and it never became prominent in 
Greek affairs save from a military point of view. 

The sudden rise into such importance of these regions which had 
remained in comparative obscurity during the great days of Greece 
was due to the fact that the folk here, particularly in yEtolia, were 
chiefly rough mountaineers who supplied recruits for the armies that 
conquered and ravaged Asia. The basis of their importance and 
power was the booty that fell to these mercenaries as their share of 
the pillage of a continent. The wealth they thus acquired was 
enough, Mahaffy asserts, " to buy all Greece ten times over." ^ 

Both of the leagues were broken up by Rome. In the year 
146 B.C. Corinth, the rhost splendid city at this time of all Greece, 
and the most important member of the Achaean League, was taken 
by the Romans, the men were killed, the women and children sold 
into slavery, the rich art treasures of the city sent as trophies to 
Rome, and its temples and other buildings given to the flames. 
This was the last act in the long and varied drama of the political 
life of ancient Greece. Henceforth the country formed simply a 
portion of the Roman Empire. 

302. Athens as a University City. But the things of greatest 
interest in the history of continental Greece during the period we are 
reviewing are connected with none of the political matters so far 
noticed, but rather with the intellectual life of Athens. At the begin- 
ning of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles, in his celebrated funeral 
oration, called Athens " the School of Hellas." With even better 
right could the Athens of the Hellenistic Age lay claim to the title 
of " the School of the World." Throughout this period she was 
preeminently a university town in a very real meaning of the term. 

The beginning of this phase of Athenian life was the bequest made 
by the philosopher Plato at his death (347 B.C.) of his house and 
garden, close to the Academy,^ as a school for those wishing to pursue 
philosophical studies. So far as we know this was the first endowed 
school in the world, and the one of which our own endowed acade- 
mies and universities are the lineal descendants. Others imitated 

1 Greek Life and Thought (1887), p. 7. 

2 The Academy, like the Lyceum, was a pleasure-ground outside the city walls. 



2/2 THE GRyECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 303 

the example set by Plato, and in quick succession there were estab- 
lished and endowed at Athens three other famous schools, known as 
the Lyceum, the School of Epicurus, and the School of the Stoics. 
The first was founded by the famous philosopher Aristotle, the second 
by the teacher whose name it bore, and the third by the philosopher 
Zeno (sect. 363). 

These several schools of philosophy were the chief attraction at 
Athens during the last three centuries before the Christian era and 
even long thereafter. Their pleasant gardens and beautiful buildings 
were the show places of the city. They drew to Athens the mentally 
alert, the choice spirits of every land, both as teachers and as pupils, 
and made that city the intellectual hearth of the ancient world. Many 
of the Roman youth in the second and first centuries before our era 
came here to sit at the feet of teachers whose fame was world-wide. 

In a later chapter ^ we shall speak of some of the doctrines of the 
Stoics and the Epicureans and give some details of the lives and 
works of the greatest representatives of the several schools. Li the 
present connection we shall stop to notice only certain facts concern- 
ing the School of the Stoics, because these facts show how close 
and vital were the relations of this school of thought to the spirit 
and tendencies of the age in which it arose. 

303. Rise of the Stoic Philosophy. In speaking of the Stoic sys- 
tem. Professor Mahaffy says, " This philosophy was one of the first 
results, and perhaps the greatest, of Hellenism proper — the reaction 
upon Greece of the thought and culture of the East.'"^ It was a 
blend of Greek and oriental elements. The leaders of the school 
came chiefly from Asia, or from regions that had felt oriental influ- 
ences, racial or cultural.^ This explains the presence of an oriental 
element in their philosophy and in their code of morals. In certain 
of their teachings, as, for instance, in their fundamental doctrine that 
a man should regard himself not as a citizen of this city or of that, 
but as a citizen of the world, they were the truest representatives 
of the broadening spirit of the Hellenistic Age. "We are the off- 
spring of God," quoted by the Apostle Paul (Acts xvii, 28) was a 

1 See Chapter XXIX. 2 Greek Life and ThoKght (18S7), p. 142. 

2 Zeno, the founder of the school, was of Phoenician descent. 



§304] RHODES AS A CENTER OF COMMERCE 273 

Stoic epigram, which shows how the new philosophy was approaching 
the standpoint of Christianity and preparing the way for it. 

Panastius, wlio died in no B.C., was for a time head of the Stoic 
school in Athens. It was the Stoic philosophy and code of morals 
as modified by him that the Romans adopted. This was one of the 
most important of the elements of the intellectual and moral legacy 
which Greece bequeathed to Rome. It was next in influence to the 
religious and moral doctrines given to Rome by Judea. . 

IV. RHODES 

304. Rhodes as a Center of Commerce and Trade. Rhodes was 
one of the most important centers of the commercial and trading 
life of the Greek world during the Hellenistic Age. It was the suc- 
cessor to the sea power of prehistoric Crete — the mountains of 
which on a clear day can be sighted from Rhodes — and to the sea 
empire of Athens in the period following the Persian Wars. It was 
the Venice of the age. Like early Crete, it was the relay station of 
the trade between Egypt and the ^gean, and it was largely this 
which made it a great emporium. It developed a strong naval force 
and kept the sea free from pirates. It acted as peacemaker and 
mediator in adjusting disputes between the cities of the Greek world. 

In the second century B.C. the commercial power and renown of 
Rhodes awakened the jealousy of the Romans, who undermined 
the prosperity of the city by establishing a rival port on the island 
of Delos. 

305. Rhodian Schools of Art and Oratory. Public art is a child 
of wealth. The commercial prosperity of Rhodes caused it to be- 
come during the Hellenistic period a great art center. One charac- 
teristic of Rhodian art was its tendency to bigness. A bronze statue 
of Helios erected by the Rhodians was so colossal (it was one hundred 
and five feet high) that it was numbered among the seven wonders of 
the world.^ Besides this gigantic statue the city was crowded with 

1 The statue, however, was not as large as the statue of Liberty in New York harbor. 
The height of the latter is 151 feet. After standing about half a century, the Colossus 
was overthrown by an earthquake. Nine hundred years later it was broken up and sold 
for old metal. 



274 



THE GRyECO-ORIENTAL WORLD 



[§306 



thousands of others, many of which were of colossal size. The city 
became a favorite resort of artists, and the schools founded by them 
acquired a wide renown. 

At the same time that Rhodes was nourishing its art schools, it 
was maintaining schools of rhetoric and oratory which gained great 
repute. Sons of well-to-do Roman families — Rome was now coming 




F"iG. 112. The Dying Gaul. (Capitoline Museum) 

A marble copy of a bronze original presented to Athens by Attalus I of Pergamum, about 
200 B.C. in commemoration of his victory over the Gauls (Galatians) 

into political relations with the Greek East and was learning to appre- 
ciate Greek culture — came hither in great numbers to become pupils 
in these famous schools. 



V. PERGAMUM 

306. Pergamum as a Center of Letters and Art. Another of the 
important artistic and literary centers of the Hellenistic world was 
Pergamum, the capital of a kingdom which at one time embraced 
a great part of western Asia Minor.-^ Through its great university 
and library the city gained the repute of being next to Alexandria 
in Egypt the most important center of letters in the Hellenistic 

1 This state came into existence 2S0 B.C. Its period of bloom was in the second 
century before our era. In the year 133 B.C. Attalus 1 II died, bequeathing his kingdom 
to the Romans, who made it into a province of their empire under the name of Asia. 



§3U6] 



PERGAMUM AS A CENTER OE ART 



275 



world. Parchment — it is worth noting that this word is derived 
from Pergamum — was here first extensively used for books in 
place of the paper made from the Egyptian papyrus,^ the expor- 
tation of which the rulers of Egypt at this time forbade, as the 
entire output of the Egyptian manufactories was needed for the 
copyists at the great Alexandrian Library (sect. 310). 

Along with this literary activity there ran an artistic development 
which is of great interest because of its close relation to the political 




Fig. 113. A Restoration of the Great Altar of Zeus Soter 
AT Pergamum 

The gigantic figures that decorated the base are now in the Berlin Museum. This monu- 
ment is doubtless what in Revelation (ii, 13) is called "Satan's seat." The early Chris- 
tians, in their image-breaking zeal, so mutilated the statues that the modern excavators 
of the ruins found hardly a face unmarred 

history of the period. Eor just as the great art of the age of Phidias 
received its inspiration from the sacrifices and achievements of the 
\\'ar of Liberation, so did the great Pergamene art receive its impulse 
from the exaltation of feeling that followed the victory of the princes 
of Pergamum over the savage Gauls (sect. 300), who at this time 
spread panic and terror throughout almost all Asia Minor. The 
feelings of exaltation and of gratitude to the gods for the great 
deliverance were embodied in a series of remarkable sculptures, 
among which are the so-called Dying Gaul (Fig. 112), and a great 

1 See above, p. 36, n. i. 



2/6 THE GR/ECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§307 

number of figures in high relief and of colossal size which decorated 
the four sides of the base of a great altar (Fig. 113) dedicated to 
Zeus the Deliverer in commemoration of the triumph over the Gallic 
marauders.^ The subject of the sculpturings was the mythical contest 
of the gods with the earth-born giants,^ which struggle seemed to the 
Greeks the counterpart of their own terrific fight with the uncouth 
and savage Gauls. 

VI. THE SYRIAN KINGDOM 

307. The Seleucidae (312-65 B.C.). The Syrian kingdom during 
the two centuries and more of its existence played an important 
part in the civil history of the world. Under its first king it com- 
prised nominally almost all the countries of Asia conquered by 
Alexander, thus stretching from the Hellespont to the Indus ; but 
in reality the monarchy embraced only Asia Minor, part of Syria, 
and the old Assyria and Babylonia. Its rulers were called Seleucidae, 
from the founder of the kingdom, Seleucus Nicator, famous as the 
builder of cities. 

The successors of Seleucus Nicator led the kingdom through 
checkered fortunes. On different sides provinces fell away and be- 
came independent states.^ At last, coming into collision with Rome, 
the kingdom was destroyed, and the lands embraced by it were 
incorporated with the Roman Republic. 

308. Antioch and its Suburb, Daphne. The most important of the 
numerous cities founded by Seleucus was Antioch, on the Orontes, 
in northern Syria. Next to Alexandria in Egypt this was the largest 
and most splendid city of the Hellenistic world. It owed its prosperity 
and importance to the fact that it was one of the chief relay stations 
of the trade between the East and the West. To its docks and ware- 
houses were brought, by heavily laden camel trains, the natural and 
manufactured products of all the regions of western and interior Asia 

1 The altar is supposed to have been buih by Eumenes II (197-159 B.C.). 

2 See Gayley, Classic Myths. Consult index under " Giants. ■' 

3 One of the most important of these was Parthia, a powerful non-Aryan state (from 
about 255 B.C. to 226 A.D.) that grew up east of the Euphrates in the lands which origi- 
nally formed the heart and center of the old Persian Empire. Its kings were at first 
formidable enemies of the rulers of Syria, and later of the Romans. 



§309] THE MACCABEAN REVOLT 277 

for redistribution to every part of the Mediterranean world. It was 
in Antioch that the disciples of Christ were first called Christians 
(see Acts xi, 26). 

About five miles from the city was the famous Grove of Daphne, 
a great pleasure ground, the natural beauty of which had been so 
enhanced by art as to make it one of the most beautiful spots of all 
the Mediterranean lands. It was the favorite resort of the voluptuous 
pleasure-seekers of the capital. Only Sybaris, in Italy (sect. 185), gained 
such a reputation for luxury and love of pleasure as Antioch won. 

309. The Maccabean Revolt. In an earlier chapter on the He- 
brews, mention was made of the reestablishment of the Jewish state 
during parts of the second and first centuries preceding the Christian 
era (sect, 85). We are now in a better position to catch the signifi- 
cance of this revolution, which was one of the most important in 
ancient history. 

At the opening of the second century the Jews had been under 
the rule of the Scleucid^e and surrounded by Greek influences for 
upwards of a century and a half. During this period the Hellenizing 
of the nation had proceeded far. In Jerusalem a great part of the 
Jews spoke the Greek language, wore the Greek costume, and imi- 
tated the Greek manner of life. Had this Hellenizing process gone 
on without interruption, the Jewish people might have become 
wholly denationalized and that religious and moral development 
which issued in Christianity have been arrested. This threatened 
calamity was averted in the way that similar menacing calamities in 
the lives of races have been averted time and again in history — by 
a bad king. This was Antiochus IV (surnamed Epiphanes), 176- 
164 B.C. Resolved upon the destruction of Judaism, he ordered all 
scrolls of the Law to be destroyed, prohibited the Jewish worship 
and the observance of the Sabbath, and finally, setting up a statue of 
Zeus Olympius on the great altar before the Temple in Jerusalem, 
substituted the worship of the Greek god for that of Jehovah. 
Those who refused to offer sacrifices on the pagan altars he put 
to death. Jerusalem was virtually transformed into a Greek colony. 
" Never," says the historian Renan, " had the fate of Israel been 
in more peril than at this evil epoch [about 172 li.c.]. A little 



278 THE GRyECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§310 

more, and the Hebrew Bible would have been lost, and the Jewish 
religion blotted out forever."-^ 

At this crisis a reaction came. Those Jews who still clung to their 
ancestral inheritance revolted, and after a long fight under the heroic 
Maccabees, overcame their persecutors and reestablished the wor- 
ship of the Temple. From this time forward to the coming of the 
Romans, Judea was an independent state. Thus was Judaism saved 
to flower and fruit in Christianity and to make its unique and rich 
contribution to the growing spiritual and moral life of the world. 

VII. THE KINGDOM OF THE PTOLEMIES IN EGYPT 

310. The Ptolemies (323-30 B.C.). The Grasco-Eg}'ptian empire 
of the Ptolemies was by far the most important, in its influence upon 
the civilization of the world, of all the kingdoms that owed their 
origin to the conquests of Alexander. The founder of the dynasty 
was Ptolemy I (surnamed Soter), 323-283 B.C. Ptolemy was a 
general under Alexander, and seemed to possess much of his great 
commander's ability and restless energy, with a happy freedom from 
his worst faults. 

Upon the partition of the empire of Alexander, Ptolemy had re- 
ceived Egypt, with parts of Arabia and Libya. To these he added by 
conquest Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Cyrene, and Cyprus. Fol- 
lowing the usage of the time, he transported a hundred thousand 
Jews from Jerusalem to Alexandria, attached them to his person and 
policies by wise and conciliatory measures, and thus effected, in such 
measure as was possible, at this great capital of the Nile, that fusion of 
the races of the East and the West which was the dream of Alexander. 
In its mixed population Alexandria was the Constantinople of its age. 

Under Ptolemy, Alexandria became the great depot of exchange 
for the products of all the countries of the ancient world. At the 
entrance of the harbor stood the Pharos, or lighthouse, — the first 
structure of its kind, — which Ptolemy built to guide the fleets of 
the world to his capital. This edifice was reckoned one of the 
Seven Wonders (see Fig. 114 and accompanying note). 

1 History of the People of Israel (1895), vol. iv, p. 268. 



§ 311] CONCLUSION 279 

But it was not alone the exchange of material products that was 
comprehended in Ptolemy's scheme. His aim was to make his capi- 
tal the intellectual center of the world — the place where the arts, 
sciences, literatures, and even the religions of the world should meet 
and mingle. He founded the famous Museum,^ a sort of college, 
which became the " University of the East," and established the 
renowned Alexandrian Library. He encouraged poets, artists, phi- 
losophers, and teachers in all departments of learning to settle in 
Alexandria by conferring upon them immunities and privileges, and 
by gifts and a munificent patronage. His court embraced the learning 
and genius of the age. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus (283-247 B.C.) followed closely in the foot- 
steps of his father, carrying out as far as possible the plans and 
policies of the preceding reign. He added largely to the royal 
library, and extended to scholars the same liberal patronage that his 
father had before him. It was under his direction that the important 
Greek translation of the old Hebrew Scriptures was begun. From 
the traditional number of translators (Latin septuaginta, " seventy ") 
the version is known as the Septuaginf. 

Altogether the Ptolemies reigned in Egypt almost exactly three 
centuries (323-30 b.c). The rulers who held the throne for the 
last two hundred years were, with few exceptions, a succession of 
monsters, such as even Rome in her worst days could scarcely equal. 
The story of the beautiful but dissolute Cleopatra, the last of the 
house of the Ptolemies, belongs properly to the history of Rome, 
which city was now interfering in the affairs of the Orient. In the 
year 30 B.C., the year which marks the death of Cleopatra, Egypt 
was made a Roman province. 

311. Conclusion. We have now traced the political fortunes of the 
Greek race through about six centuries of authentic history. In suc- 
ceeding chapters, in order to render more complete the picture we 
have endeavored to draw of ancient Hellas, we shall add some 
details respecting Hellenic art, literature, philosophy, and society — 
details which could not well have been introduced in the foregoing 

1 " The Museum was the first example of a permanent institution for the cultivation 
of pure science founded by a government ; that was something great." — Holm 




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282 



THE GIL^CO-ORIENTAL WORLD 



[§311 



chapters without interrupting the movement of the narrative. Even 
a short study of these matters will help us to form a more adequate 
conception of that wonderful, many-sided genius of the Hellenic race 
which enabled Hellas, " captujred, to lead captive her captor." 

Selections from the Sources. Plutarch, Pkilopcemen and Aratus. Davis's 
Readings (Greece), pp. 322-329; Fling's Source Book, pp. 330-338. 

References (Modern). Holm, vol. iv (the best history in English of the 
period). Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. x, pp. 213-326. Gardner, A'ew Chapters 
in Greek History, chap, xv, " The Successors of Alexander and Greek Civili- 
zation in the East." Mahaffy, The Story of Alexander' s Empire, chaps, vi-xxxii ; 
Creek Life and Thought from the Age of Alexander to the Rovian Conquest ; 
A Survey of Greek Civilization, chaps, viii, ix ; and The Progress of Uelletiism 
in Alexander's Empire. Freeman, History of Federal Government, chaps, v-ix 
(gives with great fullness the history of the Achsean and the ^tolian League). 
Davidson, The Education of the Greek People, chap, viii, "Greek Education in 
Contact with the Great Eastern World." Draper, Intellectual Developfnent 
of Europe (consult index) (has an account of the Alexandrian Museum). 
Walden, The Universities of Ancient Greece, chap. iii. Hogarth, The Ancient 
East, chap. vi. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The Museum and Library at Alexandria: 
Mahaffy, G7-eek Life and Thought, chap, ix, pp. 192-197. 2. Rhodes as a center 
of Hellenistic culture : Holm, Histo7y of Greece, vol. iv, chap, xxii ; Mahaffy, 
Stoiy of Alexander's Empire, chap, xx (last part). 3. The Stoics and the Epi- 
cureans: yidikidSiy , Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 2^6-264. 4. The Grove of 
Daphne at Antioch : Lew Wallace, Ben Hur, bk. iv, chaps, v, vi. 




CHAPTER XXVII 
GREEK ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, AND PAINTING 

312. Relation of Greek Art to that of Earlier Cultures. Greek art 
in all its forms was in the main a creation of the Greek artistic fac- 
ulty and spirit. Speaking of its possible heritage, Professor Gardner 
compares the art of the Greeks to their literature. As in literature 
the Greeks borrowed their alphabet but with it made a literature that 
was essentially a pure embodiment of their own ideas and spirit, so 
was it in their art. The alphabet of it may have been borrowed, but 
the developed art was an original product of the Greek artistic genius.^ 

313. The Greek Sense of Beauty. The Greeks were artists by 
nature ; at least, all classes, the uneducated as well as the educated, 
seem to have had a refined taste in art matters. With us it is gen- 
erally true that only the instructed have good artistic taste. Every- 
thing the Greeks made, from the shrines for their gods to the 
meanest utensils of domestic use, was beautiful. " Ugliness gave 
them pain like a blow." Beauty they placed next to holiness ; in- 
deed, they almost or quite made beauty and moral goodness the 
same thing. It is said that it was noted by the Greeks as something 
strange and exceptional that Socrates was good, notwithstanding 
he was ugly in his features. 

The first maxim in Greek art was the same as that which formed 
the first principle in Greek morality — " Nothing in excess." The 
Greek eye was offended at any exaggeration of parts, at any lack 
of proportion in an object. The proportions of the Greek temple 
are perfect. Any deviations from the canons of the Greek artists 
are found to be departures from the ideal. 

Clearness of outline was another requirement of Greek taste. The 
aesthetic Greek had a positive dislike of all vagueness or indistinctness 

1 Percy Gardner, The Prirtcifles of Greek Ati (1914), p. 72. 
283 



284 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§314 

of form. Contrast the clear-cut lines of a Greek temple with the 
vague, vanishing lines of a mediaeval Gothic cathedral. 

It is possible that Nature herself taught the Greeks these first 
principles of their art. Nature in Greece never goes to extremes. 
The mountains and islands are never overlarge. The climate is 
rarely excessively cold or oppressively hot. And Nature here seems 
to abhor vagueness. The singular transparency of the atmosphere, 
especially of that of Attica, lends a remarkable clearness of outline to 




Doric Ionic Corinthian 

Fig. 115. Orders of Greek Architecture ^ 

every object. The Parthenon in its clear-cut features seems modeled 
after the hills that lie with such absolute clearness of form against 
the Attic sky. 

I. ARCHITECTURE 

314. Orders of Greek Architecture. By the close of the sixth 
century Greek architecture had made considerable advance and pre- 
sented three distinct styles, or orders. These are commonly known 
as the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian^ (Fig. 115). They are dis- 
tinguished from one another chiefly by differences in the proportions 
and ornamentation of the column. 

1 By some the Corinthian style is regarded as a suborder developed from the Ionic. 
See Fowler and Wheeler, Greek Archceology (1909), p. 112. 



§315] GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHIEFLY SACRED 285 

The Doric column, derived from the Mycenaean, is without a 
base and has a perfectly plain capital. At first the Doric temples 
of the Greeks were almost as massive as those of the Egyptian 
builders, but gradually they grew less heavy as they became per- 
meated with the freer Greek spirit. 

The Ionic column is characterized chiefly by the volutes, or spiral 
scrolls, of its capital, but is also marked by its fluting, its base, and 
its slender proportions. This form was principally employed by the 
Greeks of Ionia, whence its name. 

The Corinthian order is distinguished by its rich capital, formed 
of acanthus leaves. The addition of the acanthus leaves is said to 
have been suggested to the artist Callimachus by the pretty effect 
of a basket surrounded by the leaves of an acanthus plant, upon 
which it had accidentally fallen. This order was not much employed 
in Greece before the time of Alexander the Great. 

The entire structure was made to harmonize with its supporting 
columns. The general characteristics of the orders are happily sug- 
gested by the terms we use when we speak of the severe Doric, the 
graceful Ionic, and the ornate Corinthian. 

Speaking of the place which these styles held in Greek archi- 
tecture and have held in that of the world since Greek times, an 
eminent authority says, " We may admit that the invention and 
perfecting of these orders of Greek architecture has been (with 
one exception — the introduction of the arch) the most important 
event in the architectural history of the world." 

315. Greek Architecture chiefly Sacred; Early Greek Temples. 
Religion was the very breath of Greek architecture. It was reli- 
gious feeling which created the noblest monuments of the architec- 
tural genius of Hellas. Hence in the few words which we shall have 
to say concerning Greek architecture our attention will be confined 
almost exclusively to the temples of Greece. 

In the earliest times the Greeks had no temples ; the statues 
of the gods were placed beneath the shelter of a tree or within its 
hollow trunk. After a time a building rudely constructed of the 
trunks of trees and shaped like the habitations of men m,arked the 
first step in advance. Then stone took the place of the wooden 



286 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§316 

frame. With the introduction of a durable material the artist was 
encouraged to expend more labor and care upon his work. At the 
same time he received helpful hints from the old builders of the 
East. Thus architecture began to make rapid strides, and by the cen- 
tury following the age of Solon at Athens there were many beautiful 
temples in different parts of the Hellenic world. 

316. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. One of the oldest 
as well as most beautiful of Greek edifices of the Ionic order was 
the temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus.-^ The original rude pre- 
historic shrine was several times restored and enlarged. Towards 
the end of the sixth century a temple of great size and grandeur 
was begun, which was one hundred and twenty 'years in process of 
building. It was this structure that, in the year 356 B.C., on the 
same night, it is said, that Alexander was born, an ambitious youth 
named Herostratus, set aflame simply to render his name immortal. 
The temple was restored with increased magnificence. It was known 
far and wide as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 
The value of the gifts and votive offerings to the temple was beyond 
all calculation ; kings and cities vied with one another in the cost 
and splendor of their donations. Painters and sculptors were eager 
to have their masterpieces assigned a place within its walls, so that 
it became a great national gallery of paintings and statuary.^ 

Just after the middle of the third century of our era the barbarian 
Goths robbed the shrine and left it a ruin. Builders of a later date 
used the ruins as a stone quarry. Some of the celebrated jasper 
columns of the temple may be seen to-day in the great mosque 
(once the church of Santa Sophia) at Constantinople. 

1 See Acts xix, 21-41. 

2 Besides being in a sense museums, the temples of the Greeks were also banks of 
deposit. The priests often loaned out on interest the money deposited with them, the 
revenue from this source being added to that from the leased lands of the temple and 
from the tithes of war booty to meet the expenses of the services of the shrine. Usually 
the temple property in Greece was managed solely by the priests, but the treasure of 
the Parthenon at Athens formed an exception to this rule. The treasure here belonged 
to the state, and was controlled and disposed of by the vote of the people. Even the 
personal property of the goddess, the gold drapery of the statue, which was worth 500 
talents (about ^600,000), could be used in case of great need ; but it must be replaced in 
due time, with a fair interest. 



§317] 



THE DELPHIAN TEMPLE 



287 



317. The Delphian Temple. The first temple erected at Delphi 
over the spot whence issued the mysterious vapors (sect. 158) was 
a rude wooden structure. In the year 548 b.c. the temple then 
standing was destroyed by fire. All the cities and states of Hellas 
contributed to its rebuilding. 

The later structure was impressive both from its colossal size and 
from the massive simplicity that characterizes the Doric style of archi- 
tecture. It was crowded with the spoils of many battlefields, with 
the rich gifts of kings, and with rare works of art. After remaining 







^'Wl- -.-^ 




^^\)iL%-- 



P'iG. 116. The Parthenon. (From a photograph) 

"A summary of all that is best and most characteristic in Greek architecture and 
sculpture." — Ernest A. Gardner 

long secure, through the awe and reverence which its oracle inspired, 
it finally, like the temple at Ephesus, suffered frequent spoliation. 
The Phocians despoiled the temple of a treasure equivalent, it is 
estimated, to more than ten million dollars (sect. 274), and later the 
Romans seem to have stripped it bare of its art treasures.-^ 

318. The Athenian Parthenon. We have already glanced at the 
Parthenon, the sanctuary of the virgin goddess Athena, upon the 
Acropolis at Athens (sect. 243). This temple, which is built in 
the Doric order, of marble from the neighboring Pentelicus, is 
regarded as the finest specimen of Greek architecture. The art 



^ At all events the spade has turned up comparatively few relics on the site of the 
temple, which was thoroughly excavated towards the close of the last century. 



288 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§319 

exhibited in its construction is an art of ideal perfection. After 
standing for more than two thousand years, and having served suc- 
cessively as a pagan temple, a Christian church, and a Mohammedan 
mosque, it finally was made to serve as a Turkish powder magazine 
in a war with the Venetians in 1687. During the progress of this 
contest a bomb ignited the magazine, and more than half of the 
wonderful masterpiece was shivered into fragments. Even in its 
ruined state the structure constitutes the most highly prized memorial 
that we possess of the builders of the ancient world.^ 

319. Olympia and the Temple of Zeus Olympius. The sacred 
plain of the Alpheus in Elis was, as we have learned, the spot 
where were held the celebrated Olympic games. Here was raised 
a magnificent Doric temple consecrated to Zeus Olympius, and 
around it were grouped a vast number of shrines, treasure-houses, 
porticoes, and various other structures. 

For many centuries these buildings adorned the consecrated spot 
and witnessed the recurring festivals. But in the fifth century of our 
era the Christian emperor Theodosius II ordered their destruction, 
as monuments of paganism, and the splendid structures were given 
to the flames. Earthquakes, landslips, and the floods of the Alpheus 
and the Cladeus completed in time the work of destruction and 
buried the ruins beneath a thick layer of earth. 

For centuries the desolate spot remained unvisited ; but late in 
the last century the Germans thoroughly excavated the site. The 
remains unearthed were of such an extensive nature as to make 
possible a restoration of the noble assemblage of buildings (PI. XIII) 
which we may believe re-creates with fidelity the scene looked upon 
by the visitor to Olympia in the days of its architectural glory. 

320. Theaters and Other Structures. The Greek theater was nearly 
semicircular in form, and open to the sky, as shown in the accompany- 
ing cut (Fig. 117). The structure comprised three divisions : first, the 
semicircle of seats for the spectators ; second, the orchestra, or dancing 
place for the chorus, which occupied the space in front of the lower 
range of seats ; and third, in later times at least, a stage or platform 
for the actors. 

1 For short notices of other buildings at Athens, see sect. 243. 



§321] 



STADIA 



289 



The most noted of Greek theaters was the Theater of Dionysus at 
Athens, which was the model of all the others. It was cut partly in 
the native rock on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis, the 
Greeks in the construction of their theaters generally taking advan- 
tage of a hillside. The structure probably would seat about twenty 
thousand spectators.-' 

321. Stadia. The Greek stadium, in which foot races and other 
festival games were held, was a narrow rectangular enclosure between 
six and seven hundred feet in length (Fig. 118). In its construction. 




Fig. 117. The Tiii..vii.i. ui i,'i,j:.ii>us at Athens. (From a photograph) 

as in that of the theater, advantage was usually taken of a hillside, 
or of a trough between two ridges, the slopes of which gave standing- 
ground for the spectators or, in later times, formed the foundation for 
tiers of wooden or stone seats. A magnificent colonnade often crowned 
the structure. There was a stadium at each of the four places where 
the great national sacred games were held, and, indeed, at all the chief 
places of assemblage in the Greek world. 

322. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. This structure was a monu- 
mental tomb designed to preserve the memory of Mausolus, king of 
Caria, who died 352 B.C. The chief remains of the mausoleum are 

' On account of the ruined condition of the upper part of the structure, it is impossible 
to make a close estimate of its seating capacity. 

EN 



290 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§ 323 

numerous sculptures dug up on the site and now preserved in the 
Britisla Museum. It is the tradition of this beautiful structure that 
has given the world a name for all monuments of unusual magnifi- 
cence raised in memoiT of the dead. 



II. SCULPTURE 

323. Beginnings cf Greek Sculpture. The relation of the sculpture 
of the Mycenaean Age to that of historic times in Greece is unknown. 




Fig. iiS. Stadium at Athens. (Prom a photograph) 

It is probable, however, that in the art of the Mycenaean period we 
may recognize the rudiments, the alphabet, as it were, of the art of the 
age of Phidias. " And as the Mycenaean people were probably not 
exterminated, but absorbed, some of the skill of hand and eye which 
had found scope in the monuments of the prehistoric age may have 
been of avail in aiding the rise of an art which was essentially Greek." ^ 
However this may be, the earliest art in Greece to which we may 
without hesitation apply the term Hellenic exhibits distinct marks 

1 Percy Gardner, Fri>iciJ>les oj Greek Art (1914), p. 73. 



§324] INFLUENCE OF GAMES ON SCULPTURE 291 




/ 



iiF^I 



Fig. 1 19. The Wrestlers 

" Particularly were the games promo- 
tive of sculpture, since they afforded 
the sculptor living models for his art " 
(sect. 161) 



of oriental influence. From both Egypt and Assyria the early Greek 

artist received models in gold, silver, ivory, and other material, deco- 
rative designs, and a knowledge of 
technical processes. But this was 
all. The Greek was never a servile 
imitator. His true artistic feeling 
caused him to reject everything un- 
natural and gro- 
tesque in the de- 
signs and models 
of the Eastern 
artists, while his 
kindling genius 
breathed into the 
rigid figures of 
the oriental sculp- 
tor the breath of 

life, and endowed them with the beauty and grace 

of the living form. From the beginning of the sixth 

century b. c. forward to the fifth we can trace clearly 

the growing excellence of Greek sculpture until it 

blooms in the supreme beaut)^ of the art of the 

Periclean Age. 

324. Influence of the Olympic Games and the 

Gymnasium upon Greek Sculpture. Towards the 

latter part of the sixth century r,.c. it became 

the custom to set up images of the victors in the 

Olympic games. It was probably this custom that 

gave one of the earliest impulses to Greek sculp- 
ture. The grounds at Olympia became crowded 

with " a band of chosen youth in imperishable 

forms." 

In still another way did the Olympic contests 

and the exercises of the gymnasia exert a most helpful influence upon 

Greek sculpture. They afforded the artist unrivaled opportunities for 

the study of the human form. " The whole race," as Symonds says, 



Fiu. 120. Stele 
OF Aristion 

Example of archaic 
Attic sculpture 



292 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§325 



" lived out its sculpture and its painting, rehearsed, as it were, the 

great works of Phidias and Polygnotus, in physical exercises, before 

it learned to express itself in marble or in color." 

As the sacred buildings increased in number and costliness the 

services of the artist were called into requisition for their adornment. 

Every available space was filled with 
statues and groups of figures executed 
by the most renowned artists and repre- 
senting the national deities, the legend- 
ary heroes, victors at the public games, 
or incidents in the life of the state in 
which piety saw the special interposition 
of the god in whose honor the shrine 
had been raised. 

325. The Archaic Period, down to the 
Persian Wars. Among the oldest re- 
mains of Greek sculpture are specimens 
of carvings in relief. A good example 
of this archaic phase of Greek sculpture 
is seen in the tombstone of Aristion 
(Fig. i2o), discovered in Attica in 1838. 
The date of this work is placed at about 
500 B. c. A sort of Assyrian or Egyptian 
rigidity still binds the limbs of the figure ; 
still there are suggestions of the grace 
and freedom of a truer and higher art.^ 

326. The Period of Perfection of 
Greek Sculpture : the Age of Phidias. 
Greek sculpture was at its best in the last 
three quarters of the fifth century B.C., 
when art, like all other Greek activities, 

felt the thrill and stimulation of the great achievements of the War 
of Liberation. Our space wiU permit us merely to mention three or 




Fig. 121. The Charioteer 

(Date about 477 B.C. — artist 

unknown ; found at Delphi) 

" The bronze charioteer is, on the 

whole, the finest Greek bronze 

statue in existence." — Fowler and 

Wheeler 



1 Other specimens of this early art are the sculptures of a temple of the city of 
Selinus in Sicily (date about 600 B.C.) and the celebrated figures of the temple at 
yEgina, now in the Museum of Munich. 



§326] 



PERFECTION OF GREEK SCULPTURE 



293 



four of the great sculptors who contributed to the glory of the age, 
and name what the world regards as their masterpieces. 

Myron, whose best work was executed probably about 460 B.C., 
was a contemporary of Phidias. His works were chiefly in bronze. 
They were strikingly lifelike. It is told that he once made a cow 
which was so true to life that pass- 
ing shepherds tried to drive it off 
with their herds. One of his most 
celebrated pieces was the Discob- 
olus, or " Discus-thrower," which 
represents the athlete just in the 
act of pitching the discus. The ac- 
companying cut (Fig. 122) is from 
a copy in marble of the bronze 
original.-"- 

But the preeminent sculptor of 
this period of perfection was 
Phidias. " Myron," says the his- 
torian Holm, " brought art to the 
verge of perfection, Phidias con- 
ducted it into the sanctuary itself." 
Phidias was almost the only Greek 
sculptor whose name really lived 
in the memory and imagination of 
the Middle Ages. He was an Athe- 
nian and was bom about 488 B.C. He 
delighted in the beautiful myths and 
legends of the heroic age, and from 
these often drew subjects for his art. 

Phidias being an architect as well as a sculptor, his patron Pericles 
gave into his hands the general superintendence of those magnificent 
buildings with which the Athenians at just this time were adorning 

1 Almost all the masterpieces of the Greek sculptors have perished ; they are known 
to us only through copies. But to these copies is attributed by archaeologists a special 
value, since they represent, in the language of Furtwangler, " that pick of the master- 
pieces of the classical epoch which pleased ancient taste and connoisseurship in the 
times of the highest culture." 




Fig. 122. Throwing the Discus, 

OR Quoit. (The " Discobolus of 

Myron," Vatican Museum) 

" For its age one of the most wonderful 
of human works." — Percy Gardner 



294 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§326 

their city. It was his genius which, as already mentioned, created the 
marvelous figures of the pediments and of the frieze of the Parthenon.^ 
The most celebrated of his colossal sculptures were the statue 
of the goddess Athena within the Parthenon and that of Olympian 
Zeus in the temple at Olympia. The statue of Athena was about 
forty feet in height, and was constructed of ivory and gold, the 
hair, weapons, sandals, and drapery being of the latter material. 




Fig. 123. Athenian Youth in Procession. (From the frieze of the 
Parthenon) 

The statue of Olympian Zeus was also of ivory and gold. It was 
sixty feet high and represented the god seated on his throne. The 
hair, beard, and drapery were of gold. The eyes were brilliant stones. 
Gems of great value decked the throne, and figures of exquisite de- 
sign were sculptured on the golden robe. The colossal proportions 
of this wonderful work, as well as the lofty yet benign aspect of the 

1 That is to say, the designs were his ; but a great part of the actual sculpturing must 
have been done by other hands working under the direction of the master mind. The 
subject of the wonderful frieze was the procession which formed the most important 
feature of the Athenian festival known as the Great Panathenasa, which was celebrated 
every four years in honor of the patron goddess of Athens. The greater part of the frieze 
and of the pediment statues are now in the British Museum, the Parthenon having been 
largely despoiled of its coronal of sculptures by Lord Elgin. Read Lord P.yron's The 
Curse of Minerva. To the poet Lord Elgin's act appeared worse than vandalism. 



§327] 



POLYCLITUS AND P^ONIUS 



295 



countenance, harmonized well with the popular conception of the 
majesty and grace of the " father of gods and men." It was thought 
a great misfortune to die without having seen the Olympian Zeus} 
The statue was in existence for eight hundred 
years. It is believed to have been carried to 
Constantinople and to have perished there in a 
conflagration in the fifth century a.d.^ 

327. Polyclitus and Paeonius. At the same 
time that Phidias was executing his ideal repre- 
sentations of the gods, Polyclitus the Elder, whose 
home was at Argos, was producing his renowned 
bronze statues of athletes. Among his pieces was 
one representing a spear bearer, which was re- 
garded as so perfect as to be known as" the Rule."^ 
Another name belonging to this period of bloom 
has been given new re- 
nown by the fresh art 
treasures recovered at 
Olympia. Among the 
sculptures exhumed was 
a Nike, or "Victory" 
(Fig. 126), by the artist 
Paeonius. This beautiful 
statue was, according to 
a tradition current in the 
time of Pausanias, set up 




Fig. 124. Athena 
Parthenos 



After a statue found at 
Athens in iSSo, which 
is supposed to be a 
copy, executed in the 
second century of our 
era, of the colossal 
statue of Athena by 
Phidias 




Fig. 125. Head OF THE 
Olympian Zeus by 
Phidias. (From a coin) 



1 " Phidias avowed that he took his idea from the representation which Homer gives 
in the first book of the Iliad in the passage thus translated by Pope : 

"He spake, and awful bends his sable brow, 
Shakes his ambrosial curls, and gives the nod, 
The stamp of fate and sanction of the god. 
High heaven with reverence the dread signal took, 
And all Olympus to the center shook." 

BuLFiNCii, Age of Fable 

2 Phidias met an unmerited fate. He was prosecuted on the charge of sacrilege 
because he introduced among the figures on the shield of Athena portraits of his patron 
Pericles and himself. According to Plutarch, he died in prison. 

•"' Other celebrated works of Polyclitus were his Amazon and his Hera — the latter a 
gold and ivory statue which was greatly admired by his contemporaries. 



296 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§328 




at Olympia by the Messenians in commemoration of the humiliation 
inflicted upon the Spartans, their age-long oppressors, by the affair at 
Sphacteria during the course of the Peloponnesian War (sect. 254). 

328. Scopas, Praxiteles, and Lysippus (fourth century B.C.). 
Though Greek sculpture attained its highest perfection in the fifth 
century, still the following century produced sculptors whose work 
possessed qualities of rare excellence. 
Among the names of this period those of 
Scopas, Praxiteles, and Lysippus hold a 
chief place. Scopas (flourished about 395- 
350 B.C.) was one of the sculptors who 
cut the figures of the Mausoleum at Hali- 
carnassus. To him, or to one of his school, 
is also ascribed by some the famous 
composition known as the Niohc Group. 

But the most eminent sculptor of this 
period was Praxiteles (period of activity 
about 360-340 B.C.), of whom it has been 
said that he " rendered into stone the 
moods of the soul." Among his chief pieces 
may be mentioned the C/iidiati Aphrodite, 
the Safyr^ and the He7-tnes. The first of 
these, which stood in the temple of Aphro- 
dite at Cnidus, was regarded by the ancients 
as the most perfect embodiment of the god- 
dess of beauty. Pilgrimages were made 
from remote countries to Cnidus for the 
sake of looking upon the matchless statue. 
Many copies were set up in different cities. 
The Satyr also was greatly admired by the ancients and was often 
copied. The copy in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome, — the one 
made known to all the world through Hawthorne's romance of the 
Marble Faun, — is merely one of the finest of the existing copies of 
the masterpiece. 

The Hermes was set up in the temple of Hera at Olympia. To 
the great joy of archaeologists this precious memorial of antiquity 



Fig. 126. Nike, or Vic- 

tory,ofP^onius. (Found 

at Olympia) 

" It might almost be said that 
in the plastic art of all times 
and all peoples there is no 
human figure that gives such 
an illusion of floating and 
flying." — Furtwangler 



§329] SCULPTURE IN THE HELLENISTIC AGE 297 



was discovered by the German excavators of Olympia in 1877, so 
that now we possess an undoubtedly original work, though not the 
best, of one of the great masters of Greek sculpture (Fig. 127). 

Lysippus, a native of Sicyon, is renowned for his works in bronze.^ 
His period of activity falls in the last half of the fourth century b. c. 
His statues were in great demand. Alexander gave the artist many 
orders for statues of 
himself, and, it is said, 
would permit no other 
artist to portray him. 

329. Sculpture in the 
Hellenistic Age.^ The 
Hellenistic period has 
been called the Silver 
Age of Greek art, this 
term of course implying 
the inferior character of 
its products compared 
with the works of the 
preceding age. But in 
truth some of the finest 
pieces of Greek sculpture 
were produced during 
this period. Among such 
are the Victory of Satno- 
thrace (Fig. 128), the so- 
called Sarcophagus of Alexander (Fig. in), and probably the Aphrodite 
of Melos (Fig. 1 29), which are masterpieces of the Greek artistic genius. 

Along with these works which preserve the qualities of the purest 
Hellenic art there are others which mark a great change in taste, 
and which may be designated as Hellenistic. Thus one of the 
tendencies of the sculpture of the age, in contrast with the restraint, 

1 The statue of Sophocles (Fig. 135) is after Lysippus. 

2 Several of the most remarkable works of sculpture of this period — the Colossus of 
Rhodes (sect. 305), the Dying Gaul (sect. 306), and the giant figures of the Pergamene 
Altar (sect. 306) — have already been noticed in connection with the poUtical events with 
which they stand in close relation. 




Fig. 127. Hermes with the Infant 
Dionysus 

An original work of Praxiteles, found in 1877 at 
Olympia 



298 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§330 



dignity, and quiet charm of pure Attic art, is the portrayal of violent 
action and passion. The most famous work showing this character- 
istic is the group known as the 
Laocoon (Fig. 130). 

Another characteristic of Hellenistic 
sculpture is its fondness for the repre- 
sentation of rustic or simple every- 
day life and 
scenes. As a 
good example 
of this tend- 
ency we show 
the fine relief 
of a peasant 
driving a cow 
to market (see 
illustration at 
end of this 
chapter). This 
tendency in 
art, it is in- 
teresting to 
note, had its 
the idylls of 




Fig. 128. TheNike,orVictory, 
ofSamothrace. (Louvre, Paris) 

Set up on the island of Samothrace 
by Demetrius Poliorcetes of Mace- 
donia in commemoration of a naval 
victory over Ptolemy of Egypt in 
306 B.C. 




counterpart in literature in 
Theocritus (sect. 352). 

III. PAINTING 
330. Introductory. Not a single work of t'lti- 129. Aphrodite of 
any great painter of Greek antiquity has sur- ^^°^ 

vived the accidents of time. Consequently " Venus of^Miio " (Louvre, 
our knowledge of Greek painting is derived 

in the main from vase paintings, from some interesting portraits 
(dating probably from the second century of our era), found in 
graves in Lower Egypt (see Fig. 131), and from Roman wall- 
paintings and mosaics which were copies of celebrated paintings by 
Greek masters. In addition, however, to this material on which to 



§331] 



POLYGNOTUS 



299 



base an opinion we have the description by old writers of renowned 
paintings, and their anecdotes of great painters. These classic stories 
are always epigrams of criticism, and thus possess a technical as well 
as a literary and historical value. 

331. Polygnotus. Polygnotus (flourished 475-455 B.C.) has been 
called the Prometheus of painting, because he was the first to give 
fire and animation to the ex- 
pression of the countenance. 
" In his hand," it is affirmed, 
" the human features became 
for the first time the mirror of 
the soul." He seems to have 
excelled in the expression of 
pathos. Of a Polyxena^ 
painted by this great master 
it was said that she "carried 
in her eyelids the whole his- 
tory of the Trojan War." 

332 . Zexixis and Parrhasius. 
These great artists lived and 
painted in the later years of 
the fifth century B.C. A 
favorite and familiar story 
preserves their names as com- 
panions and commemorates 
their rival genius. Zeuxis, 
such is the story, painted a 
cluster of grapes which so 
closely imitated the real fruit 
that the birds pecked at them. 
His rival, for his piece, painted a curtain. Zeuxis asked Parrhasius 
to draw aside the veil and exhibit his picture. " I confess I am sur- 
passed," generously admitted Zeuxis to his rival ; " I deceived birds, 
but you have deceived the eyes of an experienced artist." 




Fig. 130. The Laocoon Group 
(Vatican Museum) 

Found at Rome in 1506. The subject repre- 
sented is the cruel suffering inflicted upon 
Laocoon, a Trojan priest, and his two sons, 
through the agency of terrible serpents sent 
by Athena, whose anger Laocoon had incurred 
(see .-Eneid, ii, 212-224) 



1 Polyxena was a daughter of the Trojan Priam, famous for her beauty and 
sufferings. 



300 GREEK ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE [§333 



333. Apelles. Apelles, who has been called the " Raphael of 
antiquity," was the court painter of Alexander the Great. He was 
such a consummate master of the art of painting and carried it to 
such a state of perfection that the ancient writers spoke of it as the 
"Art of Apelles." 

That Apelles, like Zeuxis and Parrhasius, painted lifelike pictures 
is shown by the following story. In a con- 
test between him and some rival artists, horses 
were the objects represented. Perceiving that 
the judges were unfriendly to him, Apelles 
insisted that less prejudiced judges, namely, 
some horses that were near, should pronounce 
upon the merit of the respective pieces. When 
brought before the pictures of his rivals the 
horses exhibited no concern ; but upon being 
shown the painting of Apelles they manifested 
by neighing and other intelligent signs their 
instant recognition of the companions the 
great master had created. 

In the hands of Apelles Greek painting 
attained its highest excellence. After him the 
art declined, and no other really great name 
appears. 




Fig. 131. Portrait in 

Wax Paint 

(From the Fayum) 

"These paintings [Fayum 
portraits] give us a better 
idea of what ancient paint- 
ing was, and what a high 
state it must have reached 
in its prime, than anything 
yet known, excepting 
some Pompeian frescoes." 
— Flinders Petrie 



Selection from the Sources. Pausanias, x. 25- 
31 (description of the paintings of Polygnotus at 
Delphi). 

References (Modern). Hamlin, Text-hook of 
the Histoy of Architect2cre, chaps, vi, vii. Fowler 
and Wheeler, Greek Archaology. Richardson, 
History of Greek Scnlptiire. Reinach, Apollo, chaps, iv-ix. Murray, Hand- 
book of Greek Archaology ; A History of Greek Sculpture, 2 vols. ; and The 
Sculptures of ike Parthenon. Perrot and Chipiez, Histoty of Art in Primitive 
Greece, 2 vols. E. A. Gardner, Ancient Athens and Handbook of Gi-eek Sculp- 
ture. Diehl, Kxcursions in Greece, chap, iv (gives the results of excavations 
made on the Acropolis of Athens during the years 18S2-1889). Furtwangler, 
Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture. VoN Mach, Greek Sculpture : its Spirit and 
Principles. Percy Gardner, Priticiples of Greek Art. Tarbell, A History of 
Greek Art. Harrison, Introductory Studies in Greek Art. Parry, The Two Great 



REFERENCES 



301 



Ai-t Epochs (first part). Teachers will enjoy Pater, Greek Si/icy/cs. Consult also 
by means of indexes and tables of contents the histories of Curtius, Grote, 
Abbott, and Holm. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Greek art as a reflection of Greek history: 
Percy Gardner, Pri)iciples of Greek Ait, chap, xix, " Art in Relation to 
History." 2. Building material and methods: Fowler and Wheeler, Greek 
Archeology, chap, ii, pp. 96-108. 3. The Great Altar of Zeus Soter at Perga- 
mum : Reinach, Apollo, pp. 69, 70 ; Fowler and Wheeler, Greek Archaeology, 
pp. 181-183, 284-2S6. 4. Attic art : Txic^ier, Life in Ancient Athens, cha.^^. y.v\. 
5. Greek painting and mosaic : Prowler and Wheeler, Greek Archccology, chap, ix ; 
Percy Gardner, Principles of Greek Art, chap. xii. 




CHAPTER XXVIII 
GREEK LITERATURE 

I. INTRODUCTORY 

334. The Greeks as Literary Artists. It was that same exquisite 
sense of fitness and proportion and beauty which made the Greeks 
artists in marble that also made them artists in language. " Of all 
the beautiful things which they created," says Professor Jebb, "their 
own language was the most beautiful." This language they wrought 
into epics and lyrics and dramas and histories and orations as incom- 
parable in form and beauty as their temples and statues. 

Even the Greek philosophers arranged and expressed their ideas 
and speculations with such regard to the rules of literary art that 
many of their productions are fairly entitled to a place in literature 
proper. Especially is this true of the earlier Greek philosophers, 
who wrote in hexameter verse, and of Plato, in whose works the 
profoundest speculations are embodied in the most perfect literary 
form. But since Greek philosophy, viewed as a system of thought, 
had a development distinct from that of Greek literature proper, 
we shall deal with it in a separate chapter, contenting ourselves here 
with merely pointing out the unusually close connection in ancient 
Greece between philosophy and literature. 

335. Periods of Greek Literature. Greek literature, for the time 
covered by our history, is usually divided into three periods, as 
follows: (i) the period before 475 B.C.; (2) the Attic or Golden 
Age (475-300 B.C.); (3) the Alexandrian Age (300-146 B.C.). 

The first period gave birth to epic and lyric poetry ; the second, 
to history, oratory, and, above all, to dramatic literature; while 
the third period was one of decline, during which the productions 
of the preceding epochs were worked over and commented upon 
or feebly imitated. 

302 



§336] 



EPIC POETRY: THE HOMERIC POEMS 



303 



II. THE PERIOD BEFORE 475 B.C. 

336. Epic Poetry : the Homeric Poems. The most precious literary 
products of the springtime of Greece, as we have learned (sect. 167), 
are the so-called Homeric poems — the Iliad and the Odyssey. 

Until the rise of modern German criticism these poems were 
almost universally ascribed 
to a single bard named 
Homer, who was believed 
to have lived about the mid- 
dle of the ninth century B.C., 
one or two centuries after 
the events commemorated 
in his poems. Tradition 
represents seven different 
cities as contending for the 
honor of having been his 
birthplace. He traveled 
widely (so it was believed), 
lost his sight, and then as 
a wandering minstrel sang 
his immortal verses to admir- 
ing listeners in the different 
cities of Hellas. 

But it is now the opinion 
of the majority of scholars 
that the Iliad and the 
Odyssey, as they stand to- 
day, are not, either of them, 
the creation of a single poet. They are believed to be the work of many 
bards. The " Wrath of Achilles," however, which forms the nucleus 
of the Uiad, may, with very great probability, be ascribed to Homer, 
whom we may believe to have been the most prominent of a brother- 
hood of bards who flourished about the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. 
The Odyssey is probably at least a century later than the Uiad} 

1 During the last twenty years the opinion has been growing that each poem, practi- 
cally in its entirety, is the work of a single poet. 




Fig. 132. Homer 

Ideal portrait of the Hellenistic Age 



304 



GREEK LITERATURE 



[§337 



337. Hesiod. Hesiod, a Boeotian, who is believed to have lived 
towards the close of the eighth century B.C., was the poet of nature 
and of real life, especially of peasant life, in the dim transition age of 
Hellas (sect. 152). The Homeric bards sang of the deeds of heroes, 
and of a far-away time when gods mingled with men. Hesiod sings 
of common men, and of everyday, present duties. His greatest poem, 
a didactic epic, is entitled Works and Days. This is, in the main, a 
sort of farmer's calendar, in which the poet points out to the husband- 
mai;i the lucky and unlucky days for doing certain kinds of work, gives 
him minute instructions respecting farm labor, discourses on justice 




Fig. 133. Hoeing and Ploughing. (From a vase painting of the sixth 

century B.C.) 

" Pray to Zeus . . . when thou beginnest thy labor, as soon as, putting thy hand to the 

plough, thou touchest the back of the oxen that draw at the oaken beam. Just behind 

thee, let a servant, equipped with a mattock, raise trouble for the birds by covering the 

seed." — Hesiod, Works and Days, w. 465-471 (Croiset's trans.) 

(in spite of all the injustice of the evil age in which Hesiod lived he 
kept his faith in the justice of heaven), and intersperses among all 
his practical lines homely maxims of morality and beautiful descrip- 
tive passages of the changing seasons. 

338. Lyric Poetry : Pindar. As epic poetry, represented by the 
Homeric and Hesiodic poems, was the characteristic production of 
the earlier part of the first period of Greek literature, so was lyric 
poetry the most noteworthy product of the latter part of the period.^ 

The ^olian island of Lesbos was the hearth and home of several 
of the earlier lyric poets. The songs of these Lesbian bards fairly 



1 This species of poetry had a forerunner in Archilochus, who belongs to the early 
part of the seventh century b. c. He wrote both elegies and lyrics, of which we have 
only fragments. He possessed in rare measure " the lovely gift of the Muses " ; but his 
satires were often coarse and venomous. 



§339] GOLDEN AGE OF GREEK LITERATURE 305 

glow and quiver with ardent passion. Among the earliest of these 
singers were Alcaeus and Sappho. 

The poetess Sappho (about 600 B.C.), "the poetess of love and 
beauty," was exalted by the Greeks to a place next to Homer. Plato 
calls her the tenth Muse. "Of all the poets of the world," writes 
Symonds, "of all the illustrious artists of literature, Sappho is the one 
whose every word has a peculiar and unmistakable perfume, a seal 
of absolute and inimitable grace." Although her fame endures, her 
poetry, except a few precious verses (some of which were recently 
found in Egypt), has long since perished. 

Anacreon, as already mentioned, was a courtier at the time of the 
Greek tyrannies. He was a native of Ionia, but passed much of his 
time as a favored minstrel at the court of Polycrates of Samoa 
(sect. 192) and of the tyrant Hipparchus at Athens. 

Simonides of Ceos (556—467 B.C.) lived during the Persian Wars. 
He composed immortal couplets for the monuments of the fallen 
heroes of Thermopylae and Salamis. These epigrams were burned 
into the very soul of every person in Hellas. 

But the greatest of the Greek lyric poets, and perhaps the greatest 
lyric poet of any age or race, was Pindar (522-448 b. c). He 
was a citizen of Thebes, but spent much of his time in the cities 
of Magna Grascia. The greater number of Pindar's poems were in- 
spired by the scenes of the national festivals. They describe in lofty 
strains the splendors of the Olympic chariot races, or the glory of 
the victors at the Isthmian, the Nemean, and the Pythian games. 

Pindar insists strenuously upon virtue and self-culture. With deep 
meaning, he says, " Become that which thou art " ; that is, Be what 
you were made to be. 

III. THE ATTIC OR GOLDEN AGE (475-300 B.C.) 

339. Influences Favorable to a Great Literature. The Golden Age of 
Greek literature followed the Persian Wars and was in a large meas- 
ure produced by them. 'Every great literary outburst is the result 
of a profound stirring of the depths of national life.. All Hellas 
had been profoundly moved by the tremendous struggle for political 



3o6 



GREEK LITERATURE 



[§340 



existence. Athens especially had risked all and achieved all. Her citi- 
zens now felt an unwonted exaltation of life. Hence Athens naturally 
became the home and center of the literary activity of the period. 

The Attic literature embraces almost every species of composition, 
yet its most characteristic forms are drama, history, and oratory. 
Especially favorable were the influences of the time for the production 
of great dramatic works. The two conditions, " intense activity and 
an appreciative audience," without which, it is asserted, a period of 
great drama cannot occur, met in the Age of Pericles. Hence the 
unrivaled excellence of the Attic drama, the noblest production of 
the artistic genius of the Greeks. 

The Greek Drama and Dramatists 



340. Origin of the Greek Drama. The Greek drama, in both its 
branches of tragedy and comedy, grew out of the songs and dances 

instituted in honor of 
Dionysus, the god of 
wine. 

Tragedy (goat song, 
possibly from the ac- 
companying sacrifice 
of a goat) sprang from 
the graver songs, and 
comedy (village song) 
from the lighter and 
more farcical ones. 
Gradually recital and dialogue were added, there being at first but a 
single speaker, then two, and finally three — the classical number. 
Thespis (about 534 B.C.) is said to have introduced this idea of an 
actor or reciter, hence the term Thespian applied to the tragic drama. 
Owing to its origin, the Greek drama always retained a religious 
character and, further, presented two distinct features — the chorus 
(the songs and dances) and the dialogue. At first the chorus was the 
all-important part ; but later the dialogue became the more prominent 
portion, the chorus, however, always remaining an essential feature 




Fig. 134. Bacchic Procession 



§341] THE SUBJECTS OF THE TRAGIC POETS 307 

of the performance. Finally, in the golden age of the Attic stage, the 
chorus dancers and singers were carefully trained at great expense, 
and the dialogue and choral odes formed the masterpiece of some 
great poet — and then the Greek drama, the most splendid creation 
of human genius, was complete. 

341. The Subjects of the Tragic Poets. The tragic poets of Athens 
drew the material of their plays chiefly from the myths and legends 
of the heroic age, just as Shakespeare for many of his plays used the 
legends of the semihistorical periods of his own country or of other 
lands. These legendary tales they handled freely, so changing, color- 
ing, and moralizing them as to render them the vehicle for the con- 
veying of great ethical lessons, or of profound philosophical ideas 
regarding the divine government of the world. 

342. The Leading Idea of Greek Tragedy. Symonds believes the 
fundamental idea of Greek tragedy to be the doctrine of Nemesis. 
Nemesis, it will be recalled, was the goddess who punished pride 
and presumption. 

To understand how the Greeks should have come to regard inso- 
lent self-assertion or the unrestrained indulgence of appetite or pas- 
sion as the most heinous of sins, we must recall the legend upon 
the front of the Delphian temple — "Measure in all things." As 
proportion was the cardinal element of beauty in art, so was wise 
moderation the prime quality in virtue. Those who moderated not 
their desire of fame, of wealth, of dominion, were the most impious 
of men, and all such the avenging Nemesis failed not to bring, 
through their own mad presumption and overvaulting ambition, to 
overwhelming and irretrievable ruin. 

We shall see in a moment how this idea inspired some of the 
greatest of the Greek dramas. 

343. The Three Great Tragic Poets. There are three great 
names in Greek tragedy — ^schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. 
These dramatists, as we have seen (sect. 247), all wrote during the 
century which followed the victories of the Persian Wars. Of the 
two hundred and fifty-eight dramas produced by these poets, only 
thirty-two have come down to us; all the others have perished 
through the accidents of time. 



3o8 



GREEK LITERATURE 



[§343 



^schylus (525-456 B.C.) is called "the father of tragedy." He 
belonged to the generation preceding the Age of Pericles. He aimed 
so to interpret the national myths and legends as to make them a 
means of moral instruction and stimulus, Fro77ietheiis Bound is one 

of his chief works — "one of 
the boldest and most original 
dramas," Ranke declares, " that 
has ever been written." He 
makes prominent Prometheus' 
faults of impatience and self- 
will, and shows that his suffer- 
ings are but the just penalty 
of his presumption and self- 
assertion.^ 

Another of the great tragedies 
of yEschylus is his Agamemnon, 
thought by some to be his master- 
piece. The subject is the crime 
of Clytemnestra (sect. 144). It 
is a tragedy crowded with spirit- 
shaking terrors and filled with 
more than human crimes and 
woes. Nowhere is portrayed with 
greater power the awful venge- 
ance with which the implacable 
Nemesis is armed." 





Fig. 135. Sophocles. (Lateran, 
Rome) 



1 In punishment for having stolen fire 
from heaven and given it to men, and 
for having taught them the arts of life, 
the Titan Prometheus is chained by 
Zeus to a lonely crag, and an eagle is 
sent to feed upon his liver, which each 
night grows anew. For the scene of the 
Prometheus Boicnd, see Joseph Edward Harry, The Greek Tragic Poets, pp. 14 f., 22 ff. 
2 The Agamemnon forms the first of a trilogy, that is, a series of three dramas, 
the other pieces being entitled the Choephorce and the Eumenides. These continue the 
subject of the Agamemnon, so that the three really form a single drama or story. 
This trilogy of ^schylus is the only one from the ancient stage of which all the parts 
have come down to us. 



§343] 



THE THREE GREAT TRAGIC PO'ETS 



309 



The theme of the Persians, as we have already learned, was the 
defeat of Xerxes and his host, which afforded the poet a good oppor- 
tunity " to state his philosophy of Nemesis, here being a splendid 
tragic instance of pride humbled, of greatness brought to nothing, 
through one man's impiety and pride." The poet teaches that " Zeus 
tames excessive lifting up of heart," 

Sophocles (about 496-405 B.C.), while yet a young man, gained the 
prize in a poetical contest with ^schylus (468 B.C.). Plutarch says 
that ^schylus was so chagrined by 

his defeat that he left Athens and re- '" "^ ^ 

tired to Sicily. In any event, Soph- 
ocles now became prominent as a 
leader of tragedy at Athens. He 
lived through nearly a century — a 
century, too, that included the most 
brilliant period of the life of Hellas. 
His dramas, judged by those that 
have been spared to us, were perfect 
works of art. 

The central idea of his dramas is 
essentially the same as that which 
characterizes those of ^schylus, 
namely, that self-will and insolent 
pride arouse the righteous indignation of the gods, and that no mortal 
can contend successfully against the will of Zeus. The chief works of 
Sophocles are CEdipus the King, (Edipus at Colonus, and Antigone, 
all of which are founded upon old tales of the prehistoric royal line 
of Thebes. 

Euripides (480-406 B.C.) though unpopular at first became as time 
passed more popular than either yEschylus or Sophocles; ^schylus 
was too lofty and severe, and Sophocles too old-fashioned and pious, 
to please the people, after the state of exalted religious feeling 
awakened by the tremendous experiences of the Persian Wars had 
passed away. Euripides was a better representative than either of 
the new age that opened with the Peloponnesian War — an age of 
new ideas and of growing disbelief in the ancestral religion. 




Fig. 136. 



Euripides. 
Rome) 



(Vatican, 



3 TO GREEK LITERATURE [§344 

The fame of Euripides passed far beyond the limits of Greece. It 
is asserted that his verses were recited by the natives of the remote 
country of Gedrosia; and Plutarch says that the Sicilians were so 
fond of his lines that many of the Athenian prisoners, taken before 
Syracuse, bought their liberty by teaching their masters such of his 
verses as they could repeat from memory. 

344. Comedy: Aristophanes. Foremost among all writers of 
comedy must be placed Aristophanes (about 450-385 B.C.). For a 
generation — the generation, speaking broadly, of the Peloponnesian 
War — his inimitable humor furnished the Athenians with a chief 
part of their entertainment in the theater.'^ Nothing or no one was 
immune from the shafts of his caustic and often coarse wit. The 
statesman Pericles, whom he called " the onion-headed Zeus " from 
the peculiar shape of his head and his Olympian bearing, and the 
demagogue Cleon were alike the butt of his ridicule. He parodied 
the stories of Herodotus, and travestied the tragic style of Euripides 
— even ^schylus and Sophocles did not escape. He caricatured 
Socrates and ridiculed the New Education and the Sophists (sect. 246), 
of whom he made Socrates the representative. He even made the 
Athenians laugh at themselves as he held up to mirth-provoking ridi- 
cule their mania for everything new, their credulity and fickleness, 
and their other foibles and weaknesses, and made fun of their pro- 
ceedings in the Ecclesia, and their fondness for sitting daylong in 
their great law courts, and their way of doing things in general. 

But Aristophanes was something more than a master of political 
and social and literary comedy and satire. Many of the lyrics form- 
ing the choruses of his pieces breathe the finest sentiments and are 
inexpressibly charming and beautiful.^ 

History and Historians 

Poetry is the first form of literary expression among all peoples. 
So we must not be surprised to find that it was not until two cen- 
turies or more after the composition of the Homeric poems, that is, 

1 His best-known plays are the Knights, the Clouds, the Wasps, the Birds, and the Frogs. 
'■2 Menander (342-292 B.C.) was. after Aristophanes, the most noted of Greek comic 
poets. He was the leader of what is known as the New Comedy. 



§345] 



HERODOTUS 



311 



about the sixth century B.C., that prose writing began among the 
Greeks. During the next century and a half there appeared three 
famous historians — Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon — whose 
names were cherished among the ancients, and whose writings are 
highly valued and carefully studied at the present day. The relation of 
these writers to the political history of their respective periods has 
already been noted in our narrative of events.^ In this place we 
shall add only a few biographical facts about each together with brief 
mention of his most important works. 

345. Herodotus (about 484-425 B.C.). He- 
rodotus was, as we have learned, one of the 
throng of men of brilliant genius who made 
so preeminent in history the Age of Pericles 
(sect. 244). He gathered material for his writ- 
ings through wide travel and by converse with 
everybody who had a fact to tell or a tale to 
relate. He journeyed over much of the then 
known world, visiting Egypt, Babylonia, and 
Persia, and describes with never failing vivacity 
and freshness the wonders of the different 
lands he had seen. Herodotus lived in a story- 
telling age, and he is himself an inimitable 
story-teller. To him we are indebted for a 
large part of the picturesque tales of antiquity — stories of men and 
events of which the world will never tire. He was overcredulous, 
and was often imposed upon by his guides in Egypt and at Babylon ; 
but he describes with great care and accuracy what he himself saw. 
The central theme of his great history is the Persian Wars, the strug- 
gle between Asia and Greece. Around this he groups the several 
stories of the nations of antiquity. 

346. Thucydides. Thucydides (about 471-400 B.C.), though not 
so popular an historian as Herodotus, was a much more philosophical 
writer. He was bom near Athens. He held a command during the 
earlier years of the Peloponnesian War, but having incurred the dis- 
pleasure of the Athenians he was sent into the exile which afforded 

1 See sects. 244, 251, 265. 




Fig. 137. Herodotus 

(National Museum, 

Naples) 




312 GREEK LITERATURE [§347 

him leisure to compose his history of that great struggle. Through 
the closest observation and study, he qualified himself to become 
the historian of what he from the first foresaw would prove a 
memorable war. 

Thucydides died before his task was completed.'^ His work, in the 
care shown to state the exact facts and to find the real causes of 
events, is considered a model of .historical writing. It was the first 
scientific history. Demosthenes read and reread it to improve his 
own style, and the greatest orators and historians of modern times 
have been equally diligent students of the 
work of the great Athenian. 

347. Xenophon. Xenophon (about 445- 
355 B.C.) was an Athenian, and is known 
both as a general and as a writer. The 
works that render his name so familiar 
are his Anabasis, a simple yet thrilling 
narrative of the expedition of the Ten 
Thousand Greeks (sect. 265), and his 
Memorabilia, or " Recollections " of Soc- 
FiG. nS. Thucydides rates. This work by his devoted yet by no 
(National Museum, Naples) "^^ans brilliant pupil is the most realistic 
portrait that we possess of that philosopher. 
Xenophon's CyropcEdia, or " Education of Cyrus," is essentially an 
historical romance, which portrays not alone the youth, but the 
whole life of Cyrus the Great, besides delineating the manners and 
institutions of the Persians. 

Oratory 

348. Influence of Democratic Institutions. The art of oratory 
among the Greeks was fostered and developed by the generally 
democratic character of their institutions. In the public assemblies 
of the free cities all questions that concerned the state were discussed 
and decided. The gift of eloquence secured for its possessor a sure 
preeminence and conferred a certain leadership in the affairs of state. 

1 His history breaks off abruptly in the twenty-first year of the war. The Hellenica 
of Xenophon forms a continuation of the interrupted narrative. 



§349] DEMOSTHENES 313 

The great jury courts of Athens (sect. 242) were also schools of 
oratory ; for there a citizen was obliged to be his own advocate 
and to defend his own case. Hence the attention bestowed upon 
public speaking, and the high degree of perfection attained by the 
Greeks in the difficult art of persuasion. Almost all the prominent 
Athenian statesmen were, like Pericles, masters of oratory. 

349. Demosthenes. It has been the fortune of Demosthenes 
(385-322 B.C.) to have his name become throughout the world 
the synonym of eloquence.^ The exercises and labors by which, 
according to tradition, he achieved excellence in his art are held up 
anew to each generation of youth as guides in the path to success. 

The latter part of the life of Demosthenes is intertwined with that 
of another and rival Athenian orator, ^schines. For his services to 
the state, the Athenians awarded to Demosthenes a crown of gold, 
^schines, along with other enemies of the orator, attacked this 
measure of the assembly and brought the matter to a trial. All 
Athens and strangers from far and near gathered to hear the rival 
orators ; for every matter at Athens was decided by a great debate. 
Demosthenes' address, known as the Oration 07i the Crown, was an 
unanswerable defense by Demosthenes of his whole policy of oppo- 
sition to Philip of Macedon, and of his counsel to the Athenians to 
try doubtful battle with him on the fatal field of Chaeronea (sect. 275). 
The refrain that runs through all that part of the speech which deals 
with this last crisis in the affairs of the Athenians is this : It is better 
to have fought at Chasronea and to have left our dead on the lost 
field, than never to have undertaken battle in defense of the liberties 
of Hellas. It was ours to do our duty, the issue rested with the gods, 
^schines was completely crushed. He left Athens and became a 
teacher of oratory at Rhodes. 

Respecting the several orations of Demosthenes against Philip of 
Macedon, and the death of the eloquent patriot, we have already 
spoken (sects. 275, 299). 

1 Lysias (about 440-380 b. c), Isocrates (436-338 B.C.), and Isaeus (bom about 420 B.C.) 
were all noted representatives of the art of political or forensic oratory, and forerunners 
of Demosthenes. We should call Isocrates a rhetorician instead of an orator, as his dis- 
courses (many of which were written for others to deliver) were intended to be read 
rather than spoken. The Roman Cicero was his debtor and imitator. 



314 GREEK LITERATURE [§350 

IV. THE ALEXANDRIAN AGE (300-146 B.C.) 

350. Character of the Literature. The Alexandrian period of 
Greek literature embraces the time between the break-up of Alex- 
ander's empire and the conquest of Greece by Rome (300-146 B.C.). 
During this period Alexandria in Egypt was the chief center of liter- 
ary activity, hence the term Alexandrian, applied to the literature 
of the age. The great Museum and Libraiy of the Ptolemies afforded 
in that capital such facilities for students and authors as existed in no 
other city in the world. But the creative age of Greek literature was 
over. With the loss of political liberty and the decay of faith in the 
old religion, literature was cut off from its sources of inspiration. 
Consequently the Alexandrian literature lacked freshness and origi- 
nality. It was imitative, critical, and learned. The writers of the 
period were grammarians, commentators, and translators — in a 
word, bookworms. 

351. Translations and Chronicles. One of the most important 
literary undertakings of the age was the translation of the Hebrew 
Scriptures into Greek, of which mention has already been made 
(sect. 310). It was also during this period that Manetho wrote from 
the monuments his Chronicles of Egypt (sect. 22) and Berosus, a 
Babylonian priest, compiled for one of the Syrian rulers the Chronicles 
of Chaldea. We possess only fragments of these works, but these 
have a high historical value. 

352. Poetry and Romance. Of the poets of the period we need 
mention only Theocritus, a native of Sicily, who lived and wrote for 
a time at Alexandria under Ptolemy Philadelphus. " He is the only 
one among the Alexandrian poets who belongs to the literature of the 
world " (Holm). His rustic idylls mirror the simple, artless life of 
the peasant shepherd of that age — and of every age. The Roman 
Vergil was his imitator and debtor. 

What Theocritus is in the realm of pastoral poetry Callimachus 
is in the domain of the love romance. He wrote the first love 
tale of the type of the modern novel. " This love story," says 
Professor Mahaffy, commenting on the tale, " is undoubtedly the 
first literary original of that sort of tale which makes falling in 



§353] CONCLUSION: GR^CO-ROMAN WRITERS 315 

love and happy marriage the beginning and the end, while the 
obstacles to this union form the details, of the plot."^ 

353. Conclusion : Graeco-Roman Writers. After the Roman con- 
quest of Greece, the center of Greek literary activity shifted from 
Alexandria to Rome. Hence Greek literature now passes into what 
is known as its Graeco-Roman period (146 B.C.-527 a.d.). 

The most noted historical writer of the first part of this period 
was Polybius (about 203-121 B.C.), who wrote a history of the 
Roman conquests from 264 to 146 B.C. His work, though the 
larger part of it has reached us in a mutilated state, is of great 
worth ; for Polybius wrote with true insight and understanding of 
matters that had become history in his own day. He was one of 
the best informed of the writers of antiquity. Next to Herodotus 
and Thucydides he is the truest interpreter to us of the life of the 
ancient world. He lived to see the greater part of the world he 
knew absorbed by the ever-growing empire of the city of Rome. 

Diodorus Siculus, who lived under Augustus Caesar at Rome, was 
the author of a general history of the world, of which we possess 
only about one third. He was not a critical historian, but from those 
portions of his work fortunately preserved we gather many facts 
reported by no other writer. He tells us that he spent thirty years 
in composing his history and traveled over a great part of Asia and 
Europe that he might view with his own eyes the places of which 
he had to write. 

Plutarch (born about 40 a.d.), "the prince of biographers," was 
a native of Chaeronea in Boeotia. He will always live in literature 
as the author of the Parallel Lives, in which, with great wealth of 
illustrative anecdotes, he compares or contrasts Greek with Roman 
statesmen and soldiers. One motive that led Plutarch to write the 
book, as we may infer from the partiality which he displays for 
his Greek heroes, was a desire to let the world know that Hellas 
had once bred men the peers of the best men that Rome had ever 
brought forth ; another was " through the example of great men to 

1 Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought (1S87), p. 237. The story was simply an episode 
in a long poem named ^tia. Some, however, find the first example of the new type of 
love tale in the Lyde of Antimachus of Colophon (flourished about 410 B.C.). 



3l6 GREEK LITERATURE [§353 

teach men to live well." And this last end he attained, for his work 
has been and is a great force in the moral education of the world. 
" The Shakespearean gallery of characters owes a great debt to 
Plutarch. Next to the Bible and the history of one's own country, 
one might place the Lives in value for the promotion of character 
in youth." ^ 

Selections from the Sources. Homer, Iliad (Bryant's trans.), vi, 505-640 
(the parting of Andromache and Hector). Sophocles, Antigone. /Eschylus, 
Prometheus Bound. Davis's Readings, pp. 335-337, "The Hymn of Cleanthes." 

References (Modern). Croiset, Aji Abridged History of Greek Literature. 
Wright, A Short History of Greek Literature. J ebb, Primer of Greek Literature 
and Attic Orators, 2 vols. Felton, Greece, Ancient and Modertt, vol. i, pp. 3- 
267 (on the Greek language and Greek poetry) ; vol. ii, pp. 1 1 1-246 (six lectures 
on the orators of Greece). Mahaffy, History of Classical Greek Literatm-e, 
2 vols. Jevons, History of Greek Literature. Murray, History of Ancient 
Greek Literature. Capps, From Homer to Theocritus. Barnett, The Greek 
Drama (Primer). Symonds, Studies of the Greek Poets, 2 vols. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Sappho: Manatt, ALgean Days, chap, xxv, 
" Lesbos and the Lesbian Poets." 2. Presentation of a Greek drama at 
Athens : Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, chap. xii. 3. Pindar : Mahaffy, 
Survey of Creek Civilization, pp. 91—96. 

1 Percy Gardner, Principles of Greek Art, p. 339. 



CHAPTER XXIX . 
GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE 

354. The Seven Sages; the Forerunners. About 600 b.c. there 
lived in different parts of Hellas many persons of real or reputed 
originality and wisdom. Among these were seven men, called the 
Seven Sages, who held the place of preeminence.^ To them be- 
longs the distinction of having first aroused the Greek intellect to 
philosophical thought. The wise sayings — such as " Know thy- 
self," " Nothing in excess," " Wisdom is the fairest possession " — 
attributed to them are beyond number. 

While the maxims and proverbs ascribed to the sages, like the 
so-called proverbs of Solomon, contain a vast amount of practical 
wisdom, they do not constitute philosophy proper, which is a sys- 
tematic search for the reason and causes of things. They form 
simply the introduction or prelude to Greek philosophy. 

355. The Fable Philosophy of ^sop. Connected with the names 
of the Seven Wise Men is the name of ^sop, whom tradition makes 
to have been a contemporary of Solon. The fables attributed to 
him — such as "The Wolf and the Lamb," "The Body and the 
Members," " The Fox and the Raven," " The Frogs Asking for a 
King " — have been the delight of childhood from the days of ^sop 
to our own. But it is the wisdom they embody which gives them a 
place along with the epigrams of the sages. Simple as they seem, 
these fables are inimitable, having a charm and flavor all their own. 
Socrates filled some of his last hours, while in prison, in turning some 
of them into verse,^ and a collection of them which had passed down 
through the Middle Ages was one of the first books printed after 

1 As in the case of the seven wonders of the world, ancient writers were not always 
agreed as to what names should be accorded the honor of enrollment in the sacred 
number. Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chile, Bias, and Pittacus are, however, 
usually reckoned as the Seven Wise Men. 2 Plate's P/iccdo, 60. 

3»7 



3i8 GREEK. PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE [§356 

the invention of printing in the fifteenth centuiy.^ ^sop was highly 
honored by the Athenians, who, it is said, commissioned Lysippus to 
make a bronze statue of him. This statue was, with deep significance, 
accorded a place in front of the statues of the Seven Sages. 

356. The Ionic Natural Philosophers; Thales. The first Greek 
school of philosophy grew up in the cities of Ionia, in Asia Minor, 
where almost all forms of Hellenic culture seem to have had their 
beginnings. The founder of the school was Thales of Miletus^ 
(born about 640 B.C.), the Father of Greek Philosophy. 

Thales visited Egypt, and it is probable that what he learned there 
formed the basis of his work in geometry and astronomy. He is said 
to have taught the Egyptians how to measure the height of the pyra- 
mids by means of their shadows. He is also credited with having 
foretold an eclipse of the sun — a very great scientific achievement. 

Thales taught, as did the other Ionic philosophers, that there are 
four elements — earth, water, air, and fire.^ Out of these four elements 
all things in heaven and earth were supposed to be made. 

357. Pjrthagoras. Pythagoras (about 580-500 B.C.) was bom on 
the island of Samos, whence his title of the " Samian Sage." The 
most of his later years were passed at Croton, in Southern Italy, 
where he became the founder of a celebrated brotherhood, or associa- 
tion. Legend tells how his pupils, in the first years of their novitiate, 
were never allowed to look upon their master ; how they listened to 
his lectures from behind a curtain ; and how in debate they used no 
other argument than the words Ipse dixit (he himself said so). It is 
to Pythagoras, according to the legend, that we are indebted for the 
word philosopher. Being asked of what he was master, he replied 
that he was simply a " philosopher," that is, a " lover of wisdom." 

In astronomy the Pythagoreans — it is impossible to separate the 
teachings of Pythagoras himself from those of his disciples — held 
views which anticipated by two thousand years those of Copernicus 
and his school. They taught that the earth is a sphere, and that it, 
together with the other planets, revolves about a central globe of fire, 
" the hearth, or altar, of the universe." 

1 Some at least of the tales which now pass as ^Esop's fables are from oriental sources. 
■■2 Other members of the school were Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Heraclitus. 
8 These four elements correspondT;o the eighty or more elements of modern science. 



§358] ANAXAGORAS 319 

358. Anaxagoras. Anaxagoras (about 500-427 b.c.) was the first 
Greek philosopher who made Mind, instead of necessity or chance, 
the arranging and harmonizing force of the universe. " Reason rules 
the world " was his first maxim. ^ In the views he held of the universe 
in general Anaxagoras was far in advance of his age. He ventured 
to believe that the moon was somewhat like the earth, and inhabited ; 
and taught that the sun was not a god, but a glowing rock, as large, 
probably, as the Peloponnesus. He suffered the fate of Galileo in a 
later age ; he was charged with impiety and exiled. Yet this did not 
disturb the serenity of his mind. In banishment he said, " It is not I 
who have lost the Athenians, but the Athenians who have lost me."^ 

359. The Sophists. The philosophers of whom we have thus far 
spoken were in general men who made the physical universe the sub- 
ject of their speculations. Their systems of thought possessed little 
or no practical value. They did not supply motives for right living, 
having no word for the citizen in regard to his duties to god or to man. 

About the^ middle of the fifth century, however, there appeared 
in Greece a new class of philosophers, or rather teachers, called 
Sophists.^ We have already met them in the Athens of Pericles 
(sect. 246). They abandoned in despair the attempts of their prede- 
cessors to solve the problems of the physical world,* and, as we have 
seen, devoted themselves to civic matters and to giving instruction 
in rhetoric and the art of public speech. For a long time after the 
Periclean Age, these men were the most popular educators in Greece. 
They traveled about from city to city, and contrary to the usual cus- 
tom of the Greek philosophers took fees from their pupils. Notwith- 
standing their professions, many of them were teachers of superficial 
knowledge, who cared more for the dress in which the thought was 

1 This world-ordering Mind, or Reason, of Anaxagoras was not quite the same as the 
Supreme Ruler or Divine Wisdom of the later philosophers, or as the personal God of the 
Jews. There was lacking in the conception, in some degree, the idea of design or moral 
purpose. 

2 In the teachings of Empedocles (about 492-432 B.C.) and Democritus (about 460- 
370 B.C.) we meet with many speculations respecting the constitution of matter and the 
origin of things which are startlingly similar to some of the doctrines held by modern 
scientists. Empedocles has been called the Father of the Evolution Idea. 

3 The most noted of the Sophists were Protagoras, Gorgias, and Prodicus. 

■* Not until the rise of modem science in the sixteenth century were physical phe- 
nomena again to absorb so much attention as they did in the earlier schools of Hellas. 



320 GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE [§359 

arrayed than for the thought itself, more for victory than for truth. 
The better philosophers of the time disapproved of their method, 
and applied to them many harsh epithets, taunting them with selling 
wisdom and accusing them of boasting that they could " make the 
worse appear the better reason." 

But there were those among the Sophists who taught a true 
morality, and whose good influence was great and lasting. Prodicus 
of Ceos (born about the middle of the fifth century B.C.), who lectured 
for a time at Athens, was such a teacher. The apologue, or text, of 
one of his discourses was the celebrated allegory, " The Choice of 
Heracles." ^ 

Prodicus represents Heracles as a young man standing at a part- 
ing of ways perplexed as to which path he should take. As he 
hesitates he is met by two women — one, named Vice, urges him 
to follow her, promising to lead him by an easy and pleasant path 
to the present gratification of every desire ; the other, named Virtue, 
urges him to follow her in the path in which she will direct his feet. 
Virtue promises him that the road shall lead him to exalted happi- 
ness, but she tells him that the way is long and steep and toilsome 
— for it was the path of self-denial, of painful toil in the service of 
mankind. The choice that the young Heracles made is evident from 
the superhuman, self-sacrificing labors by which he won the undying 
praise of men and a place among the celestials^ (sect. 138). 

Prodicus thus moralized the myth of Heracles, and holding before 
his young pupils the hero as a model for imitation, earnestly adjured 
them to make his choice their own, and through like self-denial and 
toilsome labor for others to win the hero's meed of enduring praise 
and honor. 

Aside from the allegories and parables of the Bible, no allegory 
probably ever exercised so great and lasting an influence over the 
lives of wide circles of men as this allegory of "The Choice of 
Heracles." Because of the stress Prodicus in his discourses laid upon 
virtue, he has been called the forerunner of Socrates, the first of the 
three celebrated philosophers of whom we shall next speak. 

1 See sect. 138 and note. 

.2 Xenophon, Memorabilia, bk. ii, chap, i, sect. 21. 



§360] 



SOCRATES 



321. 



360. Socrates. Volumes could not contain all that would be both 
instructive and interesting respecting the teachings and speculations 
of the great philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.^ We can, 
however, accord to each only a few words. 

Of these eminent thinkers, Socrates (469-399 B.C.), though sur- 
passed in grasp of intellect by both Plato and Aristotle, has the firm- 
est hold upon the affections of the world. Nature, while generous to 
the philosopher in the gifts of soul, was unkind to him in the matter 
of his person. His face was as ugly as a satyr's, so that he invited 
the shafts of the comic poets of his time. He loved to gather a little 
circle about him in the Agora or in the streets, and then to draw 
out his listeners by a series of ingenious 
questions. His method was so peculiar to 
himself that it has received the designation 
of the " Socratic dialogue." He has very 
happily been called an educator, as opposed 
to an instructor. In the young men of his 
time Socrates found many devoted pupils.^ 

This great philosopher believed that the 
proper study of mankind is man, his favorite 
maxim being, " Know thyself " ; hence he is j 

said to have brought philosophy down from p /' 

the heavens to the homes of men. 

Socrates taught the purest system of 
morals that the world had yet known — one 
which has been surpassed only by the pre- 
cepts of the Great Teacher. He thought himself to be restrained by 
a guardian spirit from doing what was wrong. He believed in the 
immortality of the soul and in a Supreme Ruler of the universe. Of 
his condemnation to death on the charge of impiety, and of his last 
hours with his devoted disciples, we have already spoken (sect. 266). 




Fig. 139. Socrates 

(National Museum, 

Naples) 



1 We have met Socrates and Aristotle before and noticed their relations to the main 
current of Greek life and history (see sects. 266, 27S). 

2 Socrates was unfortunate in his domestic relations. Xanthippe, his wife, seems to 
have been of a practical turn of mind, and unable to sympathize with the abstracted ways 
of her husband, whose life at home she at times made very uncomfortable. Her name 
has been handed down as " the sjmonym of the typical scold." 

EN 



322 



GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE 



[§361 



361. Plato. Plato (427-347 B.C.), "the broad-browed," was a 
philosopher of noble birth, before whom in youth opened a brilliant 
career in the world of Greek affairs ; but, coming under the influence 
of Socrates, he resolved to give up all his prospects in politics and 
devote himself to philosophy. Upon the condemnation and death of 
his master he went into voluntary exile. In foreign lands he gathered 
knowledge and met with varied experiences. He finally returned to 
Athens and established a school of philosophy in the Academy. 
Here, amid the disciples that thronged to his lectures, he passed a 

great part of his long life — he died 
347 B.C., at the age of eighty-one 
years — laboring incessantly upon the 
great works that bear his name. Prob- 
ably in a greater degree than any other 
philosopher, ancient or modern, he com- 
bined capacity for philosophical thought 
with an extraordinary gift of literary 
expression. 

Plato imitated in his writings Socrates' 
method in conversation. The discourse 
is carried on by questions and answers, 
hence the term Dialogues that attaches 
to his works. He attributes to his mas- 
ter, Socrates, much of the philosophy 




Fig. 140. Plato (National 
Museum, Naples) 



that he teaches ; yet his writings are 
all deeply tinged with his own genius and thought. In the Republic 
Plato portrays his conception of an ideal state. But he realized that 
the world was not yet ready for a perfect state, and so in his Laws 
he drew up what he himself designated as a " second-best consti- 
tution." -^ It was in large part the laws, institutions, and customs of 
Sparta and of Athens improved and refined. 

The Phcedo is a record of the last conversation of Socrates with his 
disciples — an immortal argum^ent for the immortality of the soul. 

Plato believed not only in a future life (postexistence), but also 
in preexistence, teaching that the ideas of reason, or our intuitions, 



^ Laws, V, 739. 



§362] 



ARISTOTLE 



323 



are reminiscences of a past experience.'^ Plato's doctrines have 
exerted a profound influence upon all schools of thought and all 
philosophies since his day. In some of his precepts he made a close 
approach to the teachings of Christianity. "We ought to become 
like God," he said, " as far as this is possible ; and to become like 
Him is to become holy and just and' wise." 

362. Aristotle. As Socrates was surpassed by his disciple Plato, 
so in turn was Plato excelled by his pupil Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), 
"the master of those who know." In 
him the philosophical genius of the 
Hellenic intellect reached its culmina- 
tion. It may be doubted whether all 
the ages since his time have produced 
so profound and powerful an intellect 
as his. He was born in the Macedo- 
nian city of Stagira, and hence is 
frequently called the " Stagirite." 

After twenty years spent in the 
school of Plato at Athens and some 
years passed in travel, Aristotle, as 
has been noted, accepted the invita- 
tion of Philip II of Macedon to be- 
come the preceptor of his son, the 
young prince Alexander (sect. 278). 
In after years Alexander, not forgetful 
of what he owed to his old teacher, 
became his liberal patron, and, besides giving him large sums of 
money, aided him in his scientific studies by sending him collections 
of plants and animals gathered on distant expeditions. 

At Athens the great philosopher conversed with his favorite 
disciples while walking about beneath the trees and porticoes of 

1 In the following lines from \A'ords\vorth we catch a reflection of Plato's doctrine 
of preexistence : 

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting ; Not in entire forgetfulness, 

The soul that rises with us, our life's star, And not in utter nakedness, 

Hath had elsewhere its setting, But trailing clouds of glory, do we come 

And cometh from afar : From God, who is our home. 

Ode <ni lnii»Mtio>is of Imntartality 




Fig. 



141. Aristotle (Spada 
Palace, Rome) 



324 GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE [§ 363 

the Lyceum ; hence probably the term peripatetic (from the Greek 
peripatein, " to walk about ") sometimes applied to his philosophy.^ 
Among the productions of his fertile intellect are works on the 
natural history of animals, on rhetoric, logic, poetry, morals and 
politics, physics and metaphysics. For centuries his works were 
studied and copied and commented upon by both European and 
Asiatic scholars, in the schools of Athens and Rome, of Alexandria 
and Constantinople. Until the time of Francis Bacon in England, for 
nearly two thousand years, Aristotle ruled over the realm of mind 
with a despotic sway. All teachers and philosophers acknowledged 
him as their guide and master. 

363. Zeno and the Stoics. We are now approaching the period 
when the political life of Greece, the freedom of her city-states 
having been cramped or destroyed by the Macedonians, was failing, 
and the whole Greek world was being fast overshadowed by the 
rising greatness of Rome. But the intellectual life of the Greek race, 
as we have learned, was by no means extinguished by the calamity 
that ended its political career. For centuries after that event the 
scholars and philosophers of this highly gifted people led a brilliant 
career in the schools and universities of the Mediterranean world. 

Among the philosophers of this period the most important were 
Zeno and Epicurus, whom we have already mentioned as the 
founders at Athens of schools of philosophy that stood in close 
relations to the moral and spiritual movements of the Hellenistic 
Age (sect. 302). It is only the moral systems of these two schools 
that are of historical importance. 

The Stoic moral code was the outgrowth in part, at least, of that 
of the Cynics, a sect who thought that a man to be good should 
have only few wants. The typical representative of this sect was 
Diogenes, who lived, so the story goes, in a wine jar (tti'^os), and 
went about Athens by daylight with a lantern, in search, as he said, 
of a man. The Cynics were, in a word, a race of pagan hermits ; 
many of them were rude and ignorant, yet among them were to be 
found men of choice spirit and even of fine culture. 

1 By some the term is derived from the name of the portico in the Lyceum in which 
Aristotle taught. 



§364] EPICURUS AND THE EPICUREANS 325 

Zeno adopted all that was good in the code of the Cynics, and, add- 
ing to this everything that he found of value in the systems of other 
philosophers, formed therefrom the Stoic system. In many of its doc- 
trines the new philosophy anticipated Christian teachings and was, in 
the philosophical world, a very important preparation for Christianity. 

The Stoics inculcated virtue for the sake of itself. They believed — 
and it would be very difficult to frame a better creed — that " man's 
chief business here is to do his duty." Health and sickness, fortune 
and misfortune, they taught were all alike indifferent — were matters 
of no moment. They schooled themselves to bear with composure 
any lot that destiny might appoint. Any sign of emotion on account 
of calamity was considered unmanly. Thus a certain Stoic, when 
told of the sudden death of his son, is said merely to have remarked, 
" Well, I never imagined that I was the father of an immortal." 

This Stoic code did not become a really important factor in the 
moral life of the ancient world until after its adoption by the finer 
spirits among the Romans. It never influenced the masses, but for 
several centuries it gave moral support and guidance to many of the 
best men of the Roman race, among whom were several emperors. 
In truth. Stoicism was one of the most helpful elements in the rich 
legacy which Hellas transmitted to Rome. 

364. Epicurus and the Epicureans. Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), 
who was a contemporaiy of Zeno, taught, in opposition to the 
Stoics, that pleasure is the highest good.- He recommended virtue, 
indeed, but only as a means for the attainment of pleasure ; whereas 
the Stoics made virtue an end in itself. In other words, Epicurus 
said, Be virtuous, because virtue will bring you the greatest amount 
of happiness ; Zeno said. Be virtuous, because you ought to be. 

Epicurus had many followers in Greece, and his doctrines were 
eagerly embraced by many among the Romans during the corrupt 
and decadent period of the Roman Empire. Many of these disciples, 
persons to whom the Stoic sentiment of duty as something noble 
and majestic made little or no appeal, carried the doctrines of their 
master to an excess that he himself would have been the first to con- 
demn. Their whole philosophy of life was expressed in the proverb, 
" Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." 



326 GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE [§365 

SCIENCE AMONG THE GREEKS 

The contributions of the Greek observers to the physical sciences 
have laid us under no small obligation to them. Some of those 
whom we have classed as philosophers were careful students of 
nature, and might be called scientists. The great philosopher Aris- 
totle wrote some valuable works on anatomy and natural history. 
From his time onward the sciences were pursued with much zeal 
and success. Especially did the later Greeks do much good and 
lasting work in the mathematical sciences, basing their labors upon 
what had already been achieved by the Egyptians and the Chaldeans. 

365. Mathematics: Euclid and Archimedes. Alexandria, in Egypt, 
under the Ptolemies (sect. 310), became the seat of the most cele- 
brated school of mathematics of antiquity. Here, under Ptolemy 
Soter, flourished Euclid, the great geometer, whose work forms the 
basis of the science of geometry as taught in our schools to-day. 
Ptolemy himself was his pupil. The royal student, however, seems 
to have disliked the severe application required to master the prob- 
lems of Euclid, and asked his teacher if there was not some easier 
way. Euclid replied, " There is no royal road to geometry." 

In the third century B.C., Syracuse, in Sicily, was the home of 
Archimedes (about 287—212), the greatest mathematician and engi- 
neer that the Grecian world produced. His knowledge of the laws 
of the lever is indicated by the oft-quoted boast that he made to 
Hiero, king of Syracuse : " Give me a place to stand, and I will 
move the world." 

366. Astronomy and Geography. Among ancient Greek astrono- 
mers and geographers the names of Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Hip- 
parchus, Strabo, Pausanias, and Claudius Ptolemy are distinguished. 

Aristarchus of Samos, who lived in the third century B.C., held 
that the earth revolves about the sun as a fixed center and rotates 
on its own axis. He was the Greek Copernicus. But his theory 
was rejected by his contemporaries and successors. 

Eratosthenes (born about 276 b.c.) might be called an astronomical 
geographer. His greatest achievement was the fairly accurate deter- 
mination of the circumference of the earth by means of the different 



§367] MEDICINE AND ANATOMY 327 

lengths of the shadow cast by the midday sun in Upper and in 
Lower Egypt at the time of the summer solstice. 

Hipparchus, who flourished about the middle of the second cen- 
tury B.C., was, through his careful observations, the real founder of 
scientific astronomy. He calculated eclipses, catalogued the stars, 
and wrote several astronomical works of a really scientific character. 

Strabo was born about half a century before our era. He traveled 
over a large part of the world, and describes, as an eyewitness, the 
scenery, the productions, and the peoples of all the countries known 
to the ancients. 

About two centuries after Strabo's time, Pausanias, " the Greek 
Baedeker," wrote his Tour of Greece, a. sort of guidebook, which is 
crowded with invaluable little items of interest concerning all the 
places best worth visiting in Greece. 

Claudius Ptolemy lived in Egypt about the middle of the second 
century after Christ. His great reputation is due not so much to 
his superior genius as to the fortunate circumstance that a vast 
work ^ compiled by him preserved and transmitted to later times 
almost all the knowledge of the ancient world on astronomical and 
geographical subjects. In this way it has happened that his name 
has become attached to various doctrines and views respecting the 
universe, though these probably were not originated by him. The 
phrase " Ptolemaic System," however, links his name inseparably, 
whether the honor be fairly his or not, with that conception of the 
solar system set forth in his works, which continued to be the received 
theory from his time until Copernicus, fourteen centuries later. 

Ptolemy combated the theory of Aristarchus in regard to the rota- 
tion and revolution of the earth ; yet he believed the earth to be 
a globe, and supported this view by exactly the same arguments 
that we to-day use to prove the doctrine. 

367. Medicine and Anatomy. Hippocrates (born about 460 B.C.) 
did so much to emancipate from superstition and ignorance the art 
of healing, and to make it a scientific study, that he is called the 
" Father of Medicine." His central doctrine was that there are laws 
of disease as well as laws of healthy life. 

1 Known to mediaeval Europe by its Arabian title Almagest, meaning " the greatest." 



328 GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE [§367 

The advance of the science of anatomy among the ancient Greeks 
was hindered by their feelings concerning the body, wliich caused 
them to look with horror upon its deliberate mutilation. Surprising 
as the statement may appear, it is nevertheless true that Aristotle, 
" the greatest of all thinkers in antiquity, the son of a physician, 
especially educated in physical science, and well acquainted for the 
time with the dissection of animals, regarded the brain as a lump of 
cold substance, quite unfit to be the seat and organ of the sensus 
commimis} This important office he ascribed rather to the heart. 
The brain he considered to be chiefly useful as the source of fluids 
for lubricating the eyes, etc." ^ At Alexandria, however, in the later 
period, under the influence, doubtless, of Egyptian practices in embalm- 
ing, the Greek physicians greatly promoted the knowledge of anatomy 
not only by the dissection of dead bodies but even by the vivisection 
of criminals condemned to death.^ 

Selections from the Sources. Plato, Republic (Jowett's trans.), ii, 379, 
380 (on God as the author of good) ; and F/ia-do (on immortahty). 

References (Modern). Grote (ten-volume ed.), vol. iv, pp. 65-94 (Ionic 
philosophers and Pythagoras) ; vol. vii, pp. 32-172 (the Sophists and Socrates). 
OsBoKN, From the Greeks to Darwin, pp. 29-68 (traces the development of 
the idea of evolution among the Greek philosophers). Burt, A Brief History 
of Greek Philosophy. Marshall, A Short History of Greek Philosophy. Mayor, 
Sketch of Ancient Philosophy. Turner, Histojy of Philosophy, chaps, i-xx. 
Lewes, Biographical History of Philosophy (first part). Davidson, The Edu- 
cation of the Greek People, chap, v (on the teachings of Socrates). Leonard, 
Socrates : Master of Life. Zeller, The Stoics, Epicurea7is, and Sceptics. All 
these works are for the teacher and the advanced student. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. The life of Socrates: Leonard, Socrates: 
RIaster of Lifc'^'^.yi.-di. 2. Extempore declamations by the Sophists: Walden, 
The Universities of Aticient Greece, chap. xi. 

1 The thinking faculty, the mind. 

2 Ladd, Elements of Physiological Psychology (1S87), p. 240. 

3 Some practices among the Greek physicians strike us as peculiar. The following 
is too characteristically Greek to be omitted. Plato, in the Gorgias, tells us that some- 
times the^doctor took a Sophist along with him to persuade the patient to take his pre- 
scription. Professor Mahaffy comments thus upon this practice : " This was done 
because it was the fashion to discuss everything in Greece, and people were not satis- 
fied to submit silently to anybody's prescription, either in law, politics, religion, or 
medicine." 



CHAPTER XXX 
SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS 

368. Education. Education at Sparta, where it was chiefly gym- 
nastic, as we have seen, was a state affair (sect. 175) ; but at Athens 
and throughout Greece generally, the youth were trained in private 
schools. These schools were of all kinds, ranging from those kept 
by the most obscure teachers, who gathered their pupils in some 
recess of the street, to those established in the Athenian Academy 
and Lyceum by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle. 

It was only the boys who received education. These Grecian boys, 
Professor Mahaffy believes, were " the most attractive the world has 
ever seen." At all events, we may believe that they were trained 
more carefully than the youth among any other people before or 
since the days of Hellenic culture. 

In the nursery the boy was taught the beautiful myths and stories 
of the national mythology and religion.^ At about seven he entered 
school, being led to and from the place of training by an old slave 
known as a pedagogue^ which word in Greek means a guide or leader of 

1 At the birth of a child, many customs of a significant character were carefully 
observed. Thus at Sparta the new-born infant was first cradled on a shield, which 
symbolized the martial life of the Spartan citizen ; while at Athens the child was laid 
upon a mantle in which was wrought the aegis of Athena, by which act was emblemized 
and invoked the protection of that patron goddess. Infanticide was almost universally 
practiced throughout Greece. (At Thebes, however, the exposure of children was pro- 
hibited by severe laws.) Such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle saw nothing in the 
custom to condemn. Among the Spartans, as we have already learned (sect. 175), the 
state determined what infants might be preserved, condemning the weakly or ill-formed 
to be cast out to die. At Athens and in other states the right to expose his child was 
given to the father. The infant was abandoned in some desert place, or left in some 
frequented spot in the hope that it might be picked up and cared for. Greek literature, 
like that of every other people of antiquity, is filled with stories and dramas turning 
upon points afforded by this common practice. The career of Sargon of Agade, of Cyrus 
the Great of Persia, of the Hebrew Moses, of Oedipus of Thebes, of Romulus and Remus 
of Roman legend, and a hundred others, are all prefaced by the same story of exposure 
and fortunate rescue. 



330 



SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS 



[§369 



boys — not a teacher. His studies were grammar, music, and gymnas- 
tics, the aim of the course being to secure a symmetrical, development 
of mind and body alike. 

Grammar included reading, writing, and arithmetic ; music, which 
embraced a wide range of mental accomplishrnents, trained the boy 
to appreciate the masterpieces of the great poets, to contribute his 
part to the musical diversions of private entertainments, and to join 
in the sacred choruses and in the pasan of the 
battlefield. The exercises of the palestrae and 
the gymnasia trained him for the Olympic 
contests, or for those sterner hand-to-hand 
battle struggles in which so much depended 
upon personal strength and dexterity. 

Upon reaching maturity the youth was en- 
rolled in the list of citizens. But his gradu- 
ation from school was his " commencement " 
in a much more real sense than with the aver- 
age modern graduate. Never was there a 
people besides the Greeks whose daily life 
was so emphatically a discipline in liberal cul- 
ture. The schools of the philosophers, the 
debates of the popular assembly, the practice 
of the law courts, the masterpieces of a divine 
art, the religious processions, the representa- 
tions of an unrivaled stage, the Panhellenic 
games — all these were splendid and efficient 
educational agencies, which produced and maintained among the citi- 
zens of the Greek cities a standard of average intelligence and culture 
probably never attained among any other people (see sect. 238). 

369. Social Position of Woman. Although there are in Greek 
literature some exquisitely beautiful portraitures of ideal womanhood, 
still the general tone of the literature betrays a deep contempt for 
woman, which Symonds regards as "the greatest social blot upon 
the brilliant but imperfect civilization of the Greeks." Thucydides 
quotes with seeming approval the Greek proverb, '' That woman is 
best who is least spoken of among men, whether for good or for evil." 




Fig. 142. Pedagogue 
AND Children. (Terra- 
cotta group from Tana- 
gra ; Louvre, Paris) 



§ 370] 



THEATRICAL ENTERTAINMENTS 



331 




This unworthy conception of womanhood necessarily consigned 
woman to a narrow and inferior place in the Greek home. Her posi- 
tion may be defined as being about halfway between oriental seclu- 
sion and modern, or Western, freedom. Her main duties were to 
cook and spin, and to oversee the domestic slaves, of whom she her- 
self was virtually one. In the fashionable society of Ionian cities she 
was seldom allowed to appear in public, or to meet, even in her own 
house, the male friends of her husband. In Sparta, however, and in 
Dorian states generally, also in yEolis, she was accorded unusual 
freedom, and was a 
really important factor 
in society. 

370. Theatrical En- 
tertainments. Among 
the ancient Greeks the 
theater was a state es- 
tablishment, " a part 
of the constitution." 
This arose from the 
religious origin and 
character of the drama 
(sect. 340), all matters 
pertaining to the popu- 
lar worship being the 
care and concern of 
the state. Theatrical performances, being religious acts, were pre- 
sented only during religious festivals — in certain celebrations held 
in honor of Dionysus. The spectators sat under the open sky ; and 
the pieces followed one after the other in close succession from early- 
morning till nightfall. 

While the better class of actors were highly honored, ordinary players 
were held in very low esteem, in which matter the Greek stage pre- 
sents a parallel to that of England in the sixteenth century. And as in 
the Elizabethan age the' writers of plays were frequently also the per- 
formers, so in Greece, particularly during the early period of the drama, 
the author often became an actor — ^^schylus and Sophocles both 



Fig. 143. A Greek School. (From a vase paint- 
ing of the fifth century B.C.) 

The master on the left is teaching the boy seated in front 
of him to play the lyre ; the master in the center of the 
picture is giving instruction in reading or in recitation to 
the boy standing before him. The man seated and lean- 
ing on a staff is probably the pedagogue who has brought 
the boys to the school 



332 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS [§371 

assumed this role — and assisted in the presentation of his own pieces. 
Still another parallel is found in the fact that the female parts in the 
Greek dramas, as in the early English theater, were taken by men. 

In the earlier period of the great dramatists the theater equipment 
was still simple, as it was in England in Shakespeare's time, but later 
it became more elaborate. The tragic actor increased his height and 
size by wearing thick-soled buskins, an enormous mask, and padded 
garments. The actor in comedy wore thin-soled slippers, or socks. 
The sock being thus a characteristic part of the make-up of the 
ancient comic actor, and the buskin that of the tragic actor, these 
foot coverings have come to be used as the symbols respectively of 
comedy and tragedy, as in the familiar lines of Dryden : 

Great Fletcher never treads in buskins here, 
Nor greater Jonson dares in socks appear. 

The theater exerted a great influence upon Greek life. It per- 
formed for ancient Greek society somewhat the same service as that 
rendered to modern society by the pulpit and the press. During the 
best days of Hellas the frequent rehearsal upon the stage of the 
chief incidents in the lives of the gods and the heroes served to 
deepen and strengthen the religious faith of the people; and later, 
when with the Macedonian supremacy the days of decline came, the 
stage was one of the chief agents in the diffusion of Greek culture 
throughout the Hellenistic world. 

371. Banquets and Symposia. Banquets and drinking parties 
among the Greeks possessed some features which set them, apart 
from similar entertainments among other people. 

The banquet proper was partaken, in later times, by the guests in 
a reclining position, upon couches or divans arranged about the table 
in the oriental manner. After the usual courses a libation was poured 
out and a hymn sung in honor of the gods, and then followed that 
characteristic part of the entertainment known as the symposium. 

The symposium was "the intellectual side of the feast." It consisted 
of general conversation, of riddles, and of convivial songs rendered to 
the accompaniment of the lyre passed from hand to hand. Some- 
times professional singers and musicians, dancing girls, jugglers, and 



§372] 



OCCUPATIONS 



333 



jesters were called in to contribute to the merrymaking. All the while 
the wine flowed freely, the rule being that a man might drink " as 
much as he could carry home without a guide, — unless he were far 
gone in years." Here also the Greeks applied their maxim, " Never 
too much." Besotted drunkenness, though by no means unknown 
in Greece, was always regarded as a most disgraceful thing. 

The banqueters usually consumed the night in merrymaking, some- 
times being broken in upon from the street by other bands of revelers, 
who made themselves self-invited guests. 

The symposium must at times, when the conversation was sustained 
by such persons as Socrates and Aristophanes, have been " a feast of 
reason and a flow of 
soul " indeed. Xeno- 
phon in his Banquet 
and Plato in his Sym- 
posium have each left 
us a memorable re- 
port of such an enter- 
tainment. 

372. Occupations. 
The enormous body 
of slaves in ancient 
Greece relieved the 

free population from most of those forms of labor classed as drudgery. 
Any kind of work with the hands was thought degrading, and was left 
largely to slaves and aliens. Speaking on this subject Plutarch says : 
" No well-nurtured man, viewing the statue of Zeus Olympius, would 
wish he were a Phidias, for it does not follow that because we admire 
the work we esteem the workman." 

At Sparta and in other states where oligarchical constitutions pre- 
vailed the citizens formed a sort of military caste, strikingly similar to 
the military aristocracy of feudal Europe. Their chief occupation, as has 
already appeared, was martial and gymnastic exercises and the adminis- 
tration of public affairs. The Spartans, it will be recalled, were forbid- 
den by law to engage in trade. In other aristocratic states, as at Thebes, 
a man by engaging in trade disqualified himself for full citizenship. 




Fig. 144. A Banquet Scene 



334 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS [§373 

In the democratic states, however, labor and trade were in gen- 
eral regarded with less contempt, and a considerable portion of the 
citizens were traders, artisans, and farmers. 

Life at Athens presented some peculiar features. All Attica being 
included in what we should term the corporate limits of the city, the 
roll of Athenian citizens included a large body of well-to-do farmers 
whose residence was outside the city walls. The Attic plains and the 
slopes of the encircling hills were dotted with beautiful villas and 
inviting farmhouses. 

And, since Athens was the head of a great empire of subject 
cities, a large number of Athenian citizens were necessarily employed 
as salaried officials in the minor positions of the public service, and 
thus politics became a profession. In any event, the meetings of the 
popular assembly and the discussion of matters of state engrossed 
more or less of the time and attention of every citizen. 

Again, the great Athenian jury courts (sect. 242), which were 
busied with cases from all parts of the empire, gave constant 
employment to nearly one fourth of the citizens, the fee that the 
juryman received enabling him to live, if he lived narrowly, without 
other business. It is said that, in the early morning, when the jury- 
men were passing through the streets to the different courts, Athens 
appeared like a city wholly given up to the single business of law. 
Furthermore, the great public buildings and monuments, which were 
in constant process of erection, afforded emplojmient for a vast number 
of artists and skilled workmen of every class. 

In the Agora, again, at any time of the day, a numerous class 
might have been found, whose sole occupation, as was the case with 
Socrates, was to talk. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles was so 
impressed with this feature of life at Athens that he summarized the 
habits of the people by saying, "All the Athenians and strangers 
which were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or 
to hear some new thing" (Acts xvii, 21). 

373. Slavery. There is a dark side to Greek life — as in truth 
there is to almost all ancient life. Hellenic art, culture, refinement — 
" these good things were planted, like exquisite exotic flowers, upon 
the black, rank soil of slavery." 



§373] SLAVERY 335 

Slaves were very numerous in Greece. No exact estimate can 
be made of their number, but it is believed that they greatly out- 
numbered the free population. Almost every freeman was a slave 
owner. It was accounted a real hardship to have to get along with 
less than half a dozen slaves. 

This large class of slaves was formed in various ways. In the 
prehistoric period the fortunes of war had brought the entire popu- 
lation of whole provinces into a servile condition, as in certain parts of 
the Peloponnesus. During later times, the ordinary captives of war still 
further augmented the ranks of these unfortunates. Their number 
was also largely added to by the slave traffic carried on with the bar- 
barian peoples of Asia. Criminals and debtors, too, were often con- 
demned to servitude, and foundlings were usually brought up as slaves. 

The relation of master and slave was regarded by the Greek as 
being not only a legal but a natural one. A free community, in his 
view, could not exist without slavery. It formed the natural basis of 
both the family and the state, the relation of master and slave being 
regarded as " strictly analogous to the relation of soul and body." 
Even Aristotle and other Greek philosophers approved the maxim 
that slaves were simply domestic animals possessed of intelligence.^ 
They were considered just as necessary in the economy of the family 
as cooking utensils. 

In general, Greek slaves were not treated harshly, according to 
the standard of humanity that prevailed in antiquity. Some held 
places of honor in the family and enjoyed the confidence and even 
the friendship of their master. The sale of a slave by a Greek to 
a non-Greek master offended Greek feeling. At Sparta, however, 
where slavery assumed the form of serfdom, the lot of the bondsman 
was peculiarly hard and unendurable. 

1 This harsh, selfish theory, it should be noted, was somewhat modified and relaxed 
when the slave class, through the numerous captives of the unfortunate civil wars, came 
to be made up in considerable part of cultured Greeks, instead of being, as was the case 
in earlier times, composed almost exclusively of barbarians, or of inferior branches of 
the Hellenic race, between whom and their cultured masters there was the same differ- 
ence in mental qualities as existed between the negro slaves and their masters in our own 
country. The sentiment that a slave was an unfortunate person, rather than an inferior 
being, came to prevail — a sentiment which aided in preparing the way for the Christian 
doctrine of the universal brotherhood of man. 



336 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS [§373 

If ever slavery was justified by its fruits, it was in Greece. The 
brilliant civilization of the Greeks was its product, and could never 
have existed without it. As one truthfully says, " Without the slaves 
the Attic democracy would have been an impossibility, for they alone 
enabled the poor, as well as the rich, to take a part in public affairs." 
Relieving the citizen of all drudgery, the system created a class 
characterized by elegant leisure, refinement, and culture. 

We find an almost exact historical parallel to all this in the feudal 
system of mediaeval Europe. Such a society has been well likened to 
a great pyramid whose top may be gilded with light while its base 
lies in dark shadows. The civilization of ancient Hellas was splendid 
and attractive, but it rested with crushing weight upon the lower 
orders of Greek society. 

Selections from the Sources. Aristotle, Politics, viii (on education). 
Xenophon, Sy77iposium, i, iv. 

References (Modern). Blumner, The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks. 
Davidson, The Education of the Greek People and Ancient Educational Ideals. 
Walden, The Universities of Ancient Greece. lAMiAVFY, Social Life in Greece; 
Old Greek Education ; Greek Life and Thought (selected chapters) ; and Old 
Greek Life. Felton, Greece, A?icient and Modem, vol. i, pp. 271-511 (pictures 
various aspects of the life of Greece). Guhl and Koner, Life of the Greeks 
and the Romans (first part). GuLiCK, Life of the Ancietit Greeks. TuCKER, 
Life in Ancient Athens. 

Especially noteworthy among recent books of importance to students of 
Greek home life, education, religion, and culture is Caroline Dale Snedeker's 
The Coward of Thermopylce (Doubleday, Page & Company, 1911). This work, 
while fiction in form, is history in reality. It portrays, with deep sympathy and 
intimate knowledge, and always with conscientious fidelity to historical facts, 
Greek customs, life, and thought in the fifth century b. c, that is, in the days 
of Leonidas and Pindar. 

Topics for Class Reports, i. Greek education: Bliimner, Home Life of 
the Ancient Greeks, chap, iii ; Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap, vii ; 
Tucker, Life itt Ancient Athens, chap. ix. 2. Student days: Walden, The 
Universities of Ancient Greece, chap. xiv. 3. Social life and entertainments : 
Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap, xiv; Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, 
chap. vii. 4. Greek slavery : Bliimner, Home Life of the Ancient Greeks, chap. xv. 
5. Funeral customs : Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, chap. xv. 



GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(Containing the full titles of works referred to, arranged in groups alphabetically 
according to authors, with names of publishers and dates of issue. Well-known text- 
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FOR PREHISTORIC TIMES AND THE ORIENT 

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Baikie, J., The Stoiy of the Pharaohs. Adam and Black, London. 1908. 

Ball, C. J., Light from the East. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London. 1899. 

Benjamin, S. G. W., Persia. Putnam, New York. 1908. 

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Brinton, D. G., Races and Peoples. McKay, New York. 
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The Mummy. Cambridge [Eng.] University Press. 1893. 
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A Histoiy of Chinese Literature. Appleton, New York. 1901. 
Goodspeed, G. S., A Histoiy of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Scribner, 
New York. 1902. 

EN 337 



338 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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Man, Past atid Present. Cambridge [Eng.] University Press. 1899. 
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Kenrick, J., /%rt'«/«a. Fellowes, London. 1855. O-P- 
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Fi7-st Steps in Hufnan Cultu7-e. Flood, Meadville. 1895. 
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Early Hiistojy of Mankind. Holt, New York. 187S. 

Primitive Culture. 3d ed. Murray, London. 1891. 2 vols. O.p. 
Warren, H. C, Buddhism in Translations. Cambridge [U.S.] University 

Press. 1896. 
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FOR GREECE 

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Dickinson, G. L., The Greek Vietu of Life. Doubleday, New York. 1909. 
Diehl, C, Excursions in Greece. Grevel, London. 1893. 
Dodge, T. A., Alexander. Houghton, Boston. 1890. (Great Captains.) 
Draper, J. W., History of the Intellectual Development of Europe. Harper, 

New York. 2 vols. 
Felton, C. C, Greece, Ancient and Modem. Ticknor, Boston. 1867. 
Fowler, H. N., and Wheeler, J. R., Greek Archceology. American Book Com- 
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Furtwangler, A., Masterpieces of Grrek Sculpture. Heinemann, London. 1885. 
Galton, F., Hereditary Genius. Macmillan, London. 1892. 
Gardiner, E. N., Greek Athletic Sports. Macmillan, London. 1910. 
Gardner, E. A., Aitcient Athe?is. Macmillan, New York. 1902. 

Handbook of Greek Sculpture. Macmillan, London. 1897. 
Gardner, P., Alew Chapters in Greek Ilistoty. Murray, London. 1892. ^ 

Principles of Greek A') t. Macmillan, London. 1914. 
Gayley, C. M., Classic Myths in English Literature. 2d ed. Ginn, Boston. 

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Grant, A. J., Greece in the Age of Pericles. Murray, London. 1893. 
Greenidge, A. H. J"., Handbook of Greek Cotistitutional History. Macmillan, 

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Grotc,G., History of G7-eece. Harper, New York. 1856,1857. 12 vols. 

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Grundy, G. B., The Great Persian War. Scribner, New York. 1901. 
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New York. 1896. 
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Hall, H. R. H., The Oldest Civilization of Greece. Nutt, London. 1901. 
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1911. 
Hogarth, D. G., Philip and Alexander of Macedon. Scribner, New York. 1897. 
Holm, A., Histoiy of Greece. Macmillan, London. 1895. 4 vols. 
Jebb, Sir R. C, Attic Orators. Macmillan, London. 1876. 2 vols. 

Greek Literature. Macmillan, London. 1881. 
Jevons, F. B., A History of Greek Literature. Scribner, New York. 1886. 
Keller, A. G., Colonization. Ginn, Boston. 1908. 

Leonard, W. E., Socrates, Master of Life. Open Court Pub. Co., Chicago. 191 5. 
Lewes, G., The Biographical LListoty of Philosophy. Button, New York. 
lAoyd,Vi'.'\N., The Age of Pericles. Macmillan, London. 1875. 2 vols. O.p. 
Mach, E. von, Greek Sculpture. Ginn, Boston. 1903. 
Mahaffy, J. P., Greek Life and Thought. Macmillan, London. 1887. 

The Greek Wo7id tinder Roman S^aay. Macmillan, London. 1890. 

Histoiy of Classical Greek LJtcrature. Macmillan, London. 1895. Two 
volumes in four. 

Old Greek Education. Harper, New York. 1882. 

Problems in Greek History. Macmillan, London. 1892. 

Social Life in Greece. Macmillan, London. 1875. 

The Story of Alexander's Empire. Putnam, New York. 1897. 

Siiivcy of Greek Civilization. Macmillan, New York. 1896. 

The Progress of Hellenism in Alexander's Empire. The University of 
Chicago Press. 1905. 
Manatt, J. I., yEgean Days. Houghton, Boston. 1914. 
Mayor, J. H., Sketch of Ancient Philosophv- Cambridge [Eng.] University Press. 

1885. 
Mosso, A., The Palaces of Crete. Putnam, New York. 1907. 
Moulton, R. G., Ancient Classical Drama. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1898. 
Murray, A. S., Greek Archeology. Scribner, New York. 

Histoiy of Greek Sculpture. Rev. ed. Scribner, New York. 2 vols. 

The Sculptures of the Paiihenon. Dutton, New York. 1903. 
Murray, G. G. A., History of Ancient Greek Literature. Appleton, New York. 
OmdiU, C, History of Greece. 7th ed. Longmans, New York. 1901. 
Osborn, H. F., From the Greeks to Danoin. Macmillan, New York. 1894. 
Parry, E. L., The Two Great Art Epochs. McClurg, Chicago. 1914. 
Pater, W., Greek Studies. Macmillan, London. 1895. 
Perrot, G., and Chipiez, C, History of Art in Primitive Greece. Trans, by 

\V. Armstrong. Chapman, London. 1894. 2 vols. 
Pickard-Cambridge, A. W., Demosthenes. Putnam, New York. 19 14. 
Richardson, R. B., Vacation Days in Greece. Scribner, New York. 1903. 

Greek Sculpture. American Book Company, New York. igu. 
Ridgeway, W., The Early Age of Greece. Cambridge [Eng.] University Press. 

1901. 2 vols. (New edition in press.) 
Robinson, J. H., and Breasted, J. H., Outlines of European Histoiy (pt. i). 

Ginn, Boston. 1914. 
Sankey, C, The Spaiian and Theban Supremacies. Scribner, New York. 1898. 
Schliemann, H., Llios. Harper, New York. 1881. 

Mycena:. Scribner, New York. 1878. O.p. 
Tiryns. Scribner, New York. 1885. 
Troja. Harper, New York. 1884. 
Troy and its Remains. Murray, London. 1875. O-P- 
Schuchhardt, C, Schliemann'' s Excavations. Macmillan, London. 1891. O.p. 
Seymour, T. D., Life in the Homeric Age. Macmillan, New York. 190S. 



342 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Snedeker, C. H., The Cozoard of Thermopyla. Doubleday, New York. 191 1. 

(Now issued under the title of The Spa^-tan.) 
Symonds, J. A., Studies of the Greek Poets. Harper, New York. 
Tarbell, F. B., A Histoiy of Greek Art. Macmillan, New York. 
Tozer, H. F., Classical Geography. American Book Company, New York. 
Tsountas, C, and Manatt, J. I., The Mycencean Age. Houghton, Boston. 1897. 

O.p. 
Tucker, T. G., Life tn Ancient Athens. Macmillan, New York. 191 4. 
VValden, J. W. H., The Universities of Ancient Greece. Scribner, New York. 

1910. 
Wheeler, B. I., Alexander the Great. Putnam, New York. 1900. 
Wright, W. C, Greek Literaticre. American Book Company, New York. 1907. 
Zeller, E., The Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics. Longmans, London. 1892. 

SOURCES 

(Most of the primary works to wTiich we have made reference are to be found in the 
Bohn Library, Harper's Classical Library, or the Loeb Classical Library. We name here 
by way of special recommendation editions of a few of the most important translations, 
together with several valuable collections of translations and extracts.) 

Aristotle, The Constitution of Athens. Trans, by Poste. London, Macmillan, 
1891. 

hrxizxi. Anabasis of Alexander. Trans, by Chinnock. Bell, London. 1893. 

Code of Hammurabi, The. Trans, by Harper. The University of Chicago 
Press. 1904. 

Davis, W. S., Readings in Ancieiit History. Allyn, Boston. 1912. 2 vols. 

Demosthenes, C;-ff//i7w J. Trans, by Kennedy. Scribner, New York. 18S9. 5 vols. 

Egyptian Book of the Dead, The. Trans, by Davis. Putnam, New York. 1894. 

Fling, F. M., Sojirce Book of Greek History. Heath, Boston. 1907. 

Harper, R. F., Assyrian and Babylonian Lite7-atu7-e. Appleton, New York. 1901. 

Herodotus. Trans, by Rawlinson. Scribner, New York. 1875. 4 vols. 

Homer, Iliad. Trans, by Bryant. Houghton, Boston. 1870. 
Odyssey. Trans, by Palmer. Houghton, Boston. 1891. 

Monroe, P. N., Source Book of the History of Education for the Greek and Roman 
Period. Macmillan, New York. 1903. 

Plato, Dialogues. Trans, by Jowett. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1892. 5 vols. 
The Republic. Trans, by Jowett. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1881. 

Plutarch, Z/Wj. Trans, by Stewart and Long. Bell, London. 1880-1882. 4 vols. 

Polybius, Histories. Trans, by Shuckburgh. Macmillan, London. 1889. 2 vols. 

Records of the Past. Trans, of the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments. Ed. by 
Birch. Bagster, London. 12 vols. New Series. Ed. by Sayce. 6 vols. 

Sacred Books of the East. Ed. by Max Mtiller. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1879- 
1904. 50 vols. 

Thallon, I. C, Readings in Greek History. Ginn, Boston. 1914. 

Thucydides. Trans, by Jowett. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1900. 2 vols. 

Xenophon, Anabasis and Hellenica. Trans, by Daykins. Macmillan, Lon- 
don. 4 vols. 



INDEX 

AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 

Note. In the case of words whose correct pronunciation has not seemed 
to be clearly indicated by their accentuation and syllabication, the sounds of 
the letters have been denoted thus : a, like a in gray ; a, like d, only less pro- 
longed ; a, like a in have; a, like a \x\.fdr\ a, like a in all; e, like ee in meet; 
e, like e, only less prolonged ; e, like e in end; e, like e in there ; e, like e in err; 
I, like / in pine ; i, like / in pin ; 6, like o in note ; o, like 5, only less prolonged ; 
6, like o in not ; 6, like o in orb ; oo, like oo in niobii ; o6, like oo in foot ; 
li, like u in ?7j^ ; ii, like the French u ; y, like i; a and a have the same sound that 
e would have in the same position ; c and eh, like k ; q, like .r ; g, like g in get ; 
g, like y ; s, like z ; ch, as in German ach ; G (small capital) as in German 
Hambmg; n, like ni in minion ; n denotes the nasal sound in French, being 
similar to n:z in sons^. 



Abraham, Hebrew patriarch, 79 

Academy, the, at Athens, 271 n. 2 

A ehae'an Age, 137 

Achaean League, 270, 271 

A chas'ans in the Heroic Age, 136 

A chiries, 125 

Ac'ra gas. See Agrigentum 

Acropolis, the, at Athens, 177 ; build- 
ings on, 219 

^'gze, 251 n. I 

yE ge'an civilization, 128-137; the 
term, how used, 135 n. 2 ; relation 
to classical Greek culture, 136 

/Egean Sea, islands in, 117 

7E gi'na, island, 292 n. i 

/E gis'thus, 126 

^gospot'ami, capture of Athenian 
fleet at, 238 

TE ne'as, 126- 

yE 5'li ans, the, 120 ; early settlements 
in Asia Minor, 136 

./Eolis (e'o lis), 136 

^s'ehi nes, 313 

./Es'chy lus, tragic poet, 307, 308 

.(Esop (e'sop), fables of, 317 

N. to'li an League, 270 

Ag a mem'non, 125, 126 



Ag'o ra, the, 334 

Ag ri gen'tum founded, 169 

Ah'ri man, 102 

A hu'ra Maz'da, 102 

Al 93e'us, lyric poet, 305 

Al 91 bi'a des, personal traits, 233 ; 
speech in favor of the Sicilian Expe- 
dition, 235 ; charged with mutilation 
of the Hermas, 236 n. 6 ; his recall to 
Athens, 236; his flight and counsel 
to the Spartans, 236 ; his recall, 238 ; 
is deposed from his command, 238; 
his death, 238 n. i 

Alexander the Great, his youth and 
accession to the throne, 256; de- 
stroys Thebes, 257 ; crosses the 
Hellespont, 257 ; at the battle of 
the Granicus, 257 ; cuts the Gor- 
dian knot, 258 n. i ; at the battle of 
Issus, 258 ; at the siege of Tyre, 
258; in Egypt, 258; at Arbela, 259; 
at Babylon and Persepolis, 259; in 
Bactria and Sogdiana, 260 ; in India, 
261 ; his plans, 262 ; his speech to 
mutinous soldiers at Opis, 263 ; his 
death, 263 ; results of his conquests, 
264 ; partition of his empire, 268 



343 



344 



INDEX 



Alexandria in Egypt founded, 258 
Alexandria in India founded, 261 
Alexandrian Age, literature of, 314- 

316 
Alexandrian Library, 279 
Al pac'a, 1 1 n. 3 
Alphabet, the Semitic, origin of, 14; 

disseminated by the Phoenicians, 90 
Al phe'us, river, 117 
Altamira (al ta me'ra), 4 n. 2 
A men ho'tep IV, 30, 31 
Amos, Hebrew prophet, 82 
Am phic'ty o ny. The, 150. See Sacred 

wars 
Am'y tis, 76 n. i 
Anac'reon, lyric poet, 174, 305 
An ax ag'o ras, 221, 319 
A nax i man'der, 318 n. 2 
An ax im'e nes, 318 n. 2 
Ancestor worship, among the Chi- 
nese, 1 13 
Anehi'ses, 126 
An'shan, in Elam, 95 
An tar9i das. Peace of, 243 n. 4 
An tig'o ne, 309 
Antioch, 276 
An tip'a ter, 269 
A pel'les, Greek painter, 300 
Aph ro di'te, goddess, 144 ; statue of, 

at Cnidus, 296 
Apis, sacred Egyptian bull, 38 
A poc'ry pha, the, 84 
A pol'lo, his oracle at Delphi, 146; 

the patron of colonies, 147 
A ra'lu, Babylonian Hades, 58 
A ra'tus, general of the Achaean 

League, 270 n. 4 
Arbe'la, battle of, 259 
Ar ca'di a, geography of, 115 
Ar ca'di ans, rustic manners of, 115 
Ar chil'o ehus, 304 n. i 
Ar ehi me'des, the mathematician, 326 
Architecture, Babylonian, 53, 76 ; 

Egyptian, 44 ; Persian, 105; Greek, 

284-290 
Archons at Athens, 178 
A re op'a gus. Council of the, 178 
A'res, 144 

Ar'go lis, description of, 115 
Ar'go nauts, the, 124 
Ar'gos, 116 
Ar i ad'ne, daughter of Minos, 1 24, 

134 
Ar is tar'chus, the astronomer, 326 



Ar is ti'des, opposes the naval policy 
of Themistocles, 197; is ostracized, 
197 ; president of the Delian League, 
208 

A ris'ti on, stele of, 291 

A ris to gi'ton, the Athenian tyranni- 
cide, 183 

Ar is toph'a nes, comic poet, 310 

Aristotle (ar'is totl), life and works, 

323-324 

Ar ta pher'nes, Persian general, 193 

Ar tax erx'es II, 240 

Artaxerxes III, 105 

Ar'te mis, goddess, 144; temple of, 
at Ephesus, 286 

Artemisium (ar te mish' : um), naval 
battle of, 202 n. i 

Ar'y ans, use of the term, 19 n. i. 
See Indo-Europeans 

Ashurbanipal (a shdor ba'ne pal), 68 

Asia Minor, migrations to, of Greeks, 
127, 136 

Assyria, the country, 48 ; excavations 
and discoveries in, 69 

Assyrian Empire, rise of, 52 ; politi- 
cal history, 64-69 ; civilization, 69- 
74 ; services rendered to civiliza- 
tion, 74 

Astrology among the Babylonians, 

58 

Astronomy, among the Egyptians, 
45 ; among the Babylonians, 62 ; 
among the Greeks, 326 

Athanasius (ath a na'shi us), 482 n. 2 

A the'na, goddess, 144; statue of, 
by Phidias, 294, 295 

Athenian constitution, 178; the So- 
lonian reforms, 180 ; the Clisthe- 
nean reforms, 184 

Athenian Empire, outgrowth of the 
Delian League, 208, 209 ; strength 
and weakness of, 223 

Athenians, the, their part in the burn- 
ing of Sardis, 191 ; Galton's re- 
marks on, 224 n. I 

Athens, relation of, to villages and 
towns of Attica, 177; history of, 
under kings, 177 ; history of, 
up to the Persian wars, 177-186; 
monarchy transformed into an oli- 
garchy, 178; classes at, 179; aban- 
doned by Athenians, 202 ; burned 
by the Persians, 203 ; rebuilding 
of, after the Persian wars, 207 ; in 



INDEX 



345 



the Periclean Age, 212-224; her 
fall (404 B.C.), 238; Thirty Tyrants 

_ at, 240 ; as a university city, 271 

A'thos or Ath'os, Mount, destruction 
of Persian fleet at, 193; canal at, 
cut by Xerxes, 198 

At lan'tis, island of, Egyptian tradition 
concerning, 137 n. 2 

Attica, central point of Greek his- 
tory, 115; consolidation of the vil- 
lages of, 177 ; the four so-called 
Attic tribes, 184 n. i ; ten new 
Attic tribes formed by Clisthenes, 
184 n. I 

Babylon, rise of, 52 ; destroyed by 
Sennacherib, 67 ; fall of, 77 

Babylonia, geology, 49 ; productions, 
49 ; remains of its cities, 53 ; exca- 
vations and discoveries in, 53 ; be- 
comes part of Persian Empire, 77 

Babylonian Empire, Old, political 
history, 52 ; civilization, 53-62. See 
Chaldean Empire 

Babylonian Genesis, the, 60 

Bactria, conquest of, by Alexander, 
260 _ 

Baluchistan (bal 00 chis tan'), 262 

Behistun (be his toon') Rock, 99 

Be'ma, the Athenian, 178 n. 2 

Be ro'sus, 314 

Bi'as, 317 n. I 

Boeotia (he o'shT a), 1 1 5 

Boghaz-Keui (bo'gaz-ke'e), 93 n. i 

Book of the Dead, 36 

Bos'pho rus, the, 165 

Bot'tii, M., 70 

Brah'ma, 108 

Brahmanism, 107 

Brahmans, the, 107 

Bronze, Age of, 8 n. i 

Buddha (boo'da), 108 

Buddhism, 108; in China, 113 

Byzantium (bi zan'shi um), founding 
of, 166. 

Cad'mus, 122 

Calendar, Egyptian, 46 ; Babylonian, 

62 
Cal lie'ra tes, architect, 219 
Cam bu'ni an Mountains, 117 
Cam by'ses, 97 
Canaanites (ka'nan Its), 79 
Car ma'ni a, 263 



Carthage founded, 89 

Cassiterides (kas i ter'i dez), the. See 
Scilly Islands 

Caste, Hindu system of, 107 

Cathay (kath a'). See China 

Cayster (ka is'ter), river, 93 

(^e ero'pi a, 122 

(^e'erops, 122 

^e phis'sus, stream, 117 

"Chser o ne'a, battle of, 253 

-Chal 9id'i 96, the name, 165; relation 
to Macedonia of colonies in, 165 

Chal'fis, colonies of, on Macedonian 
shore, 165 

-Chaldean Empire, the, 75-78 

Chaldeans, early home, 75 n. i 

Champollion (sham pol'i on), 36 

Che Hwang-te (che hwang-te), Chi- 
nese ruler, no 

-Che'ops, 27 

-f'hl'lo, 317 n. I 

China, early history, no 

Chinese, writing, 103 ; literature, n2 ; 
competitive examinations, 112 

Chinese Wall, the, no 

-Chl'os, island, 1 18 

(^imon, son of Miltiades, 210 

Cirrha (sir'a), destroyed by Amphic- 
tyons, 150 

City-state, the Greek, 140-142 

Clan. See Gens 

Cle ar'ehus, a general of the Ten 
Thousand, 240, 241 

Cleobulus (kle obu'lus), 317 n. i 

Cle'on, his advice in regard to the 
Mytileneans, 230 

Cle'ru ehies, nature of, 163 n. i ; set- 
tlement formed by Athenians in 
Lesbos, 231 n. i 

Clis'the nes, reforms of, 184 

Cli'tus, murdered by Alexander, 
260 n. 2, 261 

Cly tern nes'tra, wife of Agamemnon, 
126 

Cnossus (nos'us), Cretan city, 131, 

132. 133 
Colonies, Greek : causes of Greek 
colonization, 162; relation of, to 
the mother city, 163; cleruchies, 
163 n. I ; in Chalcidice, 165; on 
the Hellespont, the Propontis, and 
the Bosphorus. 165; in the Euxine 
region, 166; on the Ionian Islands, 
167; in southern Italy, 168; in 



346 



INDEX 



Sicily and southern Gaul, 169; in 
North Africa and Egypt, 170 ; place 
of, in Grecian history, 170 

Colonization, Greek, three epochs of, 
266 

Colossus of Rhodes, 273 

Confucianism, 112 

Confucius, Chinese sage, 11 1 

Cor 9y'ra, city, founded, 167 ; quarrel 
with Corinth, 226 

Corcyra, island, 118 

Corinth, Greek council at, in 481 B.C., 
199; quarrel with Corcyra, 226; 
congress convened at, by Philip of 
Macedon, 276; destroyed by the 
Romans, 271 

Corinth, isthmus of, 115 

Corinthia, description of, 115 

Corinthian War, 243 n. 4 

Co roe'bus, victor at Olympia, 147 

Crete, in Greek legend, 122-124 

Cris'sa, destroyed by Amphictyons, 
150 

Crit'i as, Athenian oligarch, 243 

Croe'sus, king of Lydia, 96 

Cro'ton founded, i68 

Cu'mas, oracle at, 169 

Cu nax'a, battle of, between Cyrus 
and Artaxerxes, 241 

Cuneiform writing, 54 ; its decipher- 
ment, 56 

^y ax'a res, king of the Medes, 95 

^yc'la des, the, 117 

^y clo pes, the, 144 n. 2 

(Jy'lon, rebellion of, 179 n. i 

^yn'ics, the, 324 

^yr e na'i ca, 170 

^y re'ne, founded, 170; brought un- 
der Persian rule, 189 

Qy 7v p{E dia, the, of Xenophon, 312 

Cyrus the Great, 95-97 

Cyrus the Younger, 240 

Daedalus (de'da lus t?^ ded'a lus), leg- 
endary architect, 124 

Dam'o cles, story of, 249 n. i 

Darius I, reign, 97-99; reorganizes the 
empire, 98 ; conquests in Europe, 
189; first expedition against Greece, 
192; second expedition, 193-195 

Da'tis, Persian general, 193 

David, king, 80 

De9 e le'a, its occupation urged on 
the Spartans by Alcibiades, 238 ; 



effects upon Athens of its occu- 
pation by the Spartans, 238 

Decelean War, the, 238 

Delian League. See Delos, Confed- 
eracy of 

De'los, Confederacy of, its formation, 
208 ; transformed into an empire 
by the Athenians, 208 

Delos, island, 117 

Delphian oracle, the, 145-147 ; con- 
sulted by Croesus, 146 n. 2 ; influ- 
ence on Hellenic unity, 147 ; its 
services in Greek colonization, 147 
n. I ; its attitude in the Persian 
wars, 199; message to the Athe- 
nians at the time of the Persian 
wars, 202 ; oracle given Spartans 
at beginning of Peloponnesian 
War, 227 

Deme (dem), the Attic, 184 n. i 

De me'ter, goddess, cult of, 144 n. i, 

145 
De moc'ri tus, 319 n. 2 
De'mos, the Athenian, 214 n. i 
De mos'the nes, Athenian admiral, 

237 

Demosthenes, the orator, his Philip- 
pics, 253; his death, 269; his Ora- 
tion 071 the Crown, 313 

Di cas'te ries, Athenian, description 
of, 207 ; method of fixing penalty, 
243 n. 2 

DT o do'rus Sic'u lus, 315 

Di og'e nes, the Cynic, 324 

Dionysius I (di 6 nish'i us), tyrant of 
Syracuse, 248 

Dionysius II (the Younger), 249 

Di 6 ny'sus, 144 n. 2 ; Theater of, at 
Athens, 289 

Dis cob'o Ills, the, 293 

Do do'na, oracle at, 146 n. i 

Domestication, of animals, 10; of 
plants, II 

Dorian invasion, the, legend of, 127 

Dorians conquer the Peloponnesus, 
136 

Do ris'cus, plain of, 200 

Dowry of the dead, 6; in ancient 
Egypt, 41 

Draco, his code, 179 

Drama, the Attic, origin of, 306; 
leading idea of Greek tragedy, 

307 
Dravidians, the, 106 n. 2 



INDEX 



347 



Ec cle'si a, at Athens, in earliest 
times, 178; place of meeting, 178 
n. 2; Thetes admitted to, by Solon, 
180; in the Age of Pericles, 214 

Education, Chinese, 112; Greek, 329 ; 
Spartan, 159 

Egypt, geology, 23 ; Delta of the 
Nile, 23 ; chmate and products, 
24; Prehistoric Age in, 25; the 
thirty-one dynasties, 25; Old King- 
dom, Middle Kingdom, and New 
Empire, 25 n. 2 ; political history, 
25-34; civilization, 34-46; her con- 
tribution to civilization, 46; under 
the Ptolemies, 278 

Elam, 52 

El eu sin'i an mysteries, the, 144 n. i, 

145 

El'gin, Lord, 294 n. i 

Elijah, the prophet, 82 

E'lis, description of, 116 

Elisha, the prophet, 82 

Elysium (e lizh'i um), 144 

Em ped'o cles, 319 n. 2 

E pam i non'das, at Leuctra, 244 ; rav- 
ages Laconia, 245 ; his death, 246 

Eph'e sus, 192 

Eph i al'tes, Greek statesman, 212 n. i 

Ephialtes, Greek traitor, 202 

Eph'ors, the, at Sparta, 156, 157 

Ep i cu'rus. School of, at Athens, 272 ; 

_ doctrines, 324 

E pi'rus, district of, 114 

Er a tos'the nes, geographer, 326 

Er'e bus, 145 

Er eeh the'um, the, 220 

E re'tri a, destroyed by the Persians, 

193 _ _ 
Eridu (a'ri doo), city, 49 
Erinyes (e rin'i ez), the, 144 n. 2 
E'ros, 144 n. 2 
E sar had'don I, 68 n. 1 
Eu bce'a, island, loS 
Eu'clid, the mathematician, 326 
Eu'me nes II, king of Pergamum, 

276 n. I 
Eu men'i des, the, 144 n. 2 
Eu'pa trids, the, at Athens, 179 
Euphrates, valley of the, 48 
Eu rip'i des, tragic poet, 307, 309 
Eu ro'tas, valley of the, 1 16 
Euxine (uk'sin) Sea, Greek colonies 

on, 166; trade of, 166 
Evans, Arthur J., at Cnossus, 131 



Fates, the, 144 n. 2 

Fayum (fi oom'), district of the, 28 

Fire, origin of its use, 9 ; methods of 

fire-making, 9 
Fire-worshipers. See Zoroastrianism 
Future life, doctrine of, Egyptian, 

39; Babylonian, 58; Hebrew, 85; 

Greek, 151 

Ga'des, 89 

Galton, quoted, 224 n. i 

Gauls, their invasion of Greece, 269 

Gau'ta ma. Si'e Buddha 

Gaza, reduced by Alexander, 25S 

Gedrosia (ge dro'shi a), 262 

Gens (clan), the, among the Greeks, 
141 n. 2 

Geometry, science of, among the 
Egyptians, 46 

Gideon, Hebrew "Judge," 79 

GTl'ga mesh. Epic of, 60 

Go ma'tes. See Smerdis 

Gordian knot, 258 n. i 

Gor'di um, 258 n. i 

Gor'gias, 319^3 

Gra ni'cus, battle of the, 257 

Grecian games, influence of, 149 

Greece, homeland of the Hellenes, 
114; divisions of, 114-116; moun- 
tains of, 117; rivers and lakes of, 
117; islands round, 117; climate 
and productions of, 1 18 ; influence 
of land upon the people, 119; 
oriental settlers in, 120 

Greeks, their legends, 121-127; in- 
heritance of, 140-153; religious 
ideas and institutions, 143-151 ; 
their language, 151 ; their mythol- 
ogy, 1 52 ; their early literature, 1 52 ; 
their early art, 153. See Hellenes 

Grotefend (gro'te fent), 57 n. i 

Gy lip'pus. Spartan general, 236 

Gymnastic art, influence upon sculp- 
ture, 149, 291 

Ha'des, 143 

Hal i car nas'sus, mausoleum at, 289 

Ha'lys, river, 91, 96 

Hamites (ham'Tts), 19 

Hammurabi (ham moo ra'be), Baby- 
lonian king, 52 ; his code, 60-62 

Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 76 n. i 

Har mo'di us, the Athenian tyranni- 
cide, 183 ; statue of, carried off by 



348 



INDEX 



Xerxes, sent back by Alexander, 

259 

Hatti, royal city of the Hittites, 91 

He'be, 144 n. 2 

Hebrews, the, in Egypt, 79 ; the 
Exodus, 79 ; Patriarchal Age, 79 ; 
Age of the "Judges," 79; founding 
of the monarchy, 80 ; reign of 
David, 80 ; resign of Solomon, 80 ; 
division of the monarchy, 81 ; King- 
dom of Israel, 81, 82 ; Kingdom of 
Judah, 81, 82; literature, 83; reli- 
gion and morality, 84 ; ideal of 
universal peace, 84 ; ideas of the 
future life, 85 

Hector, son of Priam, 125 

Hel'en, wife of Menelaus, 125 

He li ae'a, the, 217 n. 3 

Hel'i con, Mount, 117 

Hel'las, term defined, 114 

Hellenes (hel'enz ), divisions of, 113, 
114; Greece proper their home- 
land, 114; influence of land upon, 
119. See Greeks 

Hellenistic culture, 266-268 

Hel'les pont, the, bridged by Xerxes, 
198 

He'lots, the, at Sparta, 155; massacre 
of, by Spartans, 155 n. i 

He phses'ti on, 263 n. 2 

He phass'tus, 144 

He'ra, 144 

Her'a cles, twelve labors of, 122 

Her a cli'dae, return of the, 127 

Her a clT'tus, 318 n. 2 

Her'mes, 144 

Her'mus, river, 93 

He rod'o tus, 220, 311 

He'si od, 137, 304 

Hes'ti a, 144 

Hieroglyphics, Egyptian, 36 ; deci- 
pherment of, 36, 37 n. 2 

Him'e ra, battle of, 205 n. i 

Hinduism, 109 

Hip par'ehus, astronomer, 327 

Hipparchus, Athenian tyrant, 183 

Hip'pi as, 183; driven from Athens, 
184; goes to Susa, 185; guides the 
Persians to Marathon, 193 

Hip'po, 89 

Hip poc'ra tes, physician, 327 

His sar'lik, excavations at, 128 

Historic Age, divisions of, 17 n. i 

Hittites (hit'its), the, 91-93 



Homer, 303 

Homeric poems, date and authorship 

of, 303 
Ho'rus, Egyptian deity, 38 n. 2 
Ho se'a, Hebrew prophet, 82 
Hyk's5s, the, 29 
Hy met'tus. Mount, 117 

Ic ti'nus, architect, 219 

I'deo grams defined, 13 

Iliad (iri ad), subject of the, 126. Sec 
Homeric poems 

Il'i OS. See Troy 

I lis'sus, stream, 1 17 

India, early history, 106-110; con- 
quests in, by Darius, 99 ; conquests 
in, by Alexander, 261 

Indo-Europeans, chief peoples, 19; 
early expansion, 20 

I o'ni a, in early times, 136 ; cities of, 
subjected by Lydian kings, 93 ; 
reduced by Cyrus, 187; revolt 
against Persians, 191 ; suppression 
of the revolt, 192 ; at the end of 
the Ionian revolt, 192 

Ionian Islands, the, 118 

lonians, settlements of, in Asia Minor, 
136. See Ionia 

Iran (e ran'), plateau of, 95 

I'ris, 144 n. 4 

Iron, Age of, 7 

I sae'us, Greek orator, 313 n. i 

I soc'ra tes, Greek orator, 313 n. i 

Israel, captivity of, 82 ; Kingdom of, 
82 

Is'sus, battle of, 258 

Isthmian games, the, 148 

Tapanese, the, racial relationship, 

18 
Jason, legendary prince of Thessaly, 

124 
Jealousy of the gods, doctrine of, 

150 
Jeph'thah, Hebrew hero, 79 
Jer o bo'am, 8j 
Jerusalem, taken by Nebuchadnezzar, 

75, 82; destroyed by the Romans, 

83 

Josephus, historian, 84 

Judah, Kingdom of, 81, 82 

Judgment of the Dead, the, in Egyp- 
tian theology, 42 ; in Persian, 
103 



INDEX 



349 



Kar'nak, Temple of, 30 
Kheta (ke'ta). See Hittites 
Khorsabad (kor sa bad'), 66, 70 
Kuhfu (kob'foo). See Cheops 
Kitchen middens, 2 
Kuyunjik (koo yoon jek'),« native 
name of largest mound at Nine- 
veh, 70, 71 

Labyrinth (lab'i rinth), Cretan, 123, 

124 
La^ e dae'mon, descriptive epithet 

hollow, 116 
Laq; e dae mo'ni ans. See Spartans 
La co'ni a, geography of, 116; classes 

in, 1 54 ; ravaged by Epaminondas, 

245 

Language, formation of, 12 

Laocoon (la oc'o on), the, 298 

Lau'ri um, silver mines at, 197 n. i ; 
revenue from, used by the Athe- 
nians for building a navy, 197 n. 1 

Lebanon, Mount, 87 

Lem'nos, island, 118 

Lenormant (le nor mon'), quoted, 44 

Le on'i das, king of Sparta, at Ther- 
mopylae, 201, 202 
*Les'bos, island, u8 ; settled by /Eo- 
lians, 136 

Leuc'tra, battle of, 243-245 

Literature, Assyrian, 71; Egyptian, 
36 ; Babylonian, 57, 60 ; Hebrew, 83, 
84; Chinese, 112; Greek, 302-316 

Llama (la'ma), 1 1 n. 3 

Long Walls, at Athens, 210, 211 n. i ; 
their demolition by the Pelopon- 
nesians, 239 

Ly ^e'urn, the, adorned by Pisistratus, 
_i83 

Ly cur'gus. legend of, 156 

Lydia, the land, 93 ; conquered by 
Cyrus the Great, 96 ; import of 
this for Greece, 96 

Ly san'der. Spartan general, captures 
Athenian fleet at ^gospotami, 238 

Lysias (lish'i as), Athenian orator, 
_3i3 n. I 

Ly sip'pus, sculptor, 297 

Mac'ca bees, the, 82, 277 

Ma9ed6'ni a, submits to Darius, 18 1 ; 
under Philip H, 251-255; its rulers, 
251 ; its population, 251 ; after 
Alexander's death, 269 



Magna Graecia (mag'na gre'shi a), the 
name, 168; colonies of, 168, 169; 
cities of, conquered by Dionysius I 
of Syracuse, 248 

Man'e tho, 25, 314 

Man ti ne'a, battle of (362 B.C.), 246 

Mar'a thon, battle of, 193-195; results 
of, 195 

Mar do'ni us, Persian general, 193, 
203^204 

Mas sa'li a, founded, 169 

Mau so le'um at Halicarnassus, 289 

Mau so'lus, king of Caria, 289 

Medes (medz), the, 95 

Medicine, science of, among the Egyp- 
tians, 46; among the Greeks, 327 

Me'los, taken possession of, by the 
Athenians, 232 

Memphis, in Egypt, 27 

Me nan'der, 310 n. 2 

Mencius (men'shius), Chinese sage, 
112 

Men e la'us, 125 

Me'nes, 26 

Mer'ne ptah, 32 

Mesopotamia, the name, 48 n. i 

Mes sa'na, Greek colony, 161 

Mes se'ne, founding of, by Epami- 
nondas, 245 

Mes se'ni a, its physical character- 
istics, 116 

Mes se'ni an wars, 160 

Messenians, liberation of. by Epami- 
nondas, 245 

Metals, Age of, 7 

Ml le'tus, colonies of, in Euxine re- 
gion, 166; fall of, 191, 192 

Mil ti'a des, in command at Mara- 
thon, 195 

Min 6'an, the term, how used, 135 n. 2 

Ml'nos, king of Crete, founder of 
maritime empire, 122 

Min'o taur, the, 123, 132 

Moses, Hebrew lawgiver, 79 

Myc'a le, battle of, 204 

My 9e'n3e, seat of prehistoric race, 
116, 130, 136 

My ce nas'an civilization, use of term, 
135 n. 2. See yEgean civilization 

My'ron, sculptor, 293 

Myt i le'ne, revolt of, 230 

Nab 6 ni'dus, king of Babylon, 78 
Na bo po las'sar, 75 



350 



INDEX 



Naucratis (na'kra tis) founded, 170 

Nax'os secedes from the Delian 
League, 209 

Ne ap'o lis, 1 69 

Ne ar'ehus, Alexander's admiral, 262 

Neb li chad nez'zar II, 75-77 

Ne'cho II, 34 

Negative Confession, the, in Egyptian 
theology, 42-44 

Ne'me a, 148 

Ne me'an games, the, 148 

Nem'e sis, goddess, 144 n. 2 ; doc- 
trine of, in Greek tragedy, 233 n. i, 

307 

Ne o lith'ic Age, 6 

Nes'tor, 125 

Nicias (nish'ias ^r nig'i as), Athenian 
general, his speech against the Si- 
cilian Expedition, 234 ; reply to 
Alcibiades, 235 ; in Sicily, 237 ; his 
execution, 237 

Nicias, Peace of, 232 

Nile, the. Delta of, 23 ; First Cataract, 
23 ; deposits of, 23 n. 2 ; inunda- 
tion, 24 

Nin'e veh, decoration of, by Sen- 
nacherib, 66 ; its fall, 68 ; palace 
mound at, 70, 71 ; Royal Library 
found at, 71 

Nippur (nip poor'), city, 54 ; excava- 
tions at, 54 

Obelisks, Egyptian, 44 

O de'on, the, at Athens, 219 

Odysseus (odis'us), 126 

Odyssey (od'i s'l), subject of the, 126. 
See Homeric poems 

Old' i pus at Colonus, 309 

O lym'pi a, location of, 116; national 
Greek games at, 147 ; temple of 
Zeus Olympius at, 288 ; excavation 
of the site, 288 

O lym'pi ad. First, 147; mode of 
designating dates by, 148 n. i 

Olympian Council, the, 144 

Olympian games, the, 147; revival of, 
149 n. I ; influence upon Greek 
sculpture, 149, 291 

O lym'pus. Mount, 117 

O'pis, 263 

Oracles among the Greeks. See Del- 
phian oracle 

Oratory, Greek, 312-313 

Orders of Greek architecture, 284 



Or'mazd. See Ahura Mazda 
O si'ris, Egyptian deity, 37 
Os'sa, Mount, 1 17 
Os'tra^ism, 184, 185 n. 2 

Pac to'lus, river, 93 

Pae 6'ni us, AUke of, 295 

Painting, Greek, 298-300 

Pa le 6 lith'ic Age, 3-5 

Pansetius (pa ne'shi us), 273 

Pan ath e nas'a, the Great, established 
by Pisistratus, 182 ; the Lesser, 
182 n. I 

Panjab (piin jab'), 99 

Papyrus paper, 36 n. i 

Par' a his, Athenian state ship, 238 

Par me'ni 6, Macedonian general, 
260 n. 2 

Parnas'sus, Mount, 117 

Pa'ros, marbles of, 1 19 

Parrhasius (pa ra'shi us), Greek 
painter, 300 

Par'the non, the, 219; treasure in, 
286 n. 2 ; description of, 287 ; 
sculptures of, 294 n. i 

Parthia, 276 n. 3 

Pa sar'ga dae, 97 

Pa tro'clus, 125 • 

Pau sa'ni as at Platasa, 204 n. i 

Pausanias, traveler and writer, 327 

Pe'li on. Mount, 1 17 

Pel'la, 251 n. i 

Pe lop'i das liberates Thebes, 244 

Peloponnesian (pel p6 ne'shi an) 
League, 161 

Peloponnesian War, the, causes of, 
226; events of, 227-239; results 
of, 239. See Contents 

Peloponnesus, the name, 114; con- 
quered by the Dorians, 127 

Pe'lops, fabled colonizer of the Pelo- 
ponnesus, 1 14 

Pe nel'o pe, 126 

Pe ne'us, river, 117 

Pen tel'i cus, Mount, 117 

Per'ga mum (cr Pergamus), center of 
Hellenistic culture, 274-276 

Per i an'der, tyrant of Corinth, 173 

Per'i cles, opposes Cimon, 210; comes 
to the head of affairs in Athens, 
210; negotiates the Thirty Years' 
Truce with Sparta, 211 ; his posi- 
tion at Athens, 213; his law limit- 
ing citizenship, 215; adorns Athens 



INDEX 



351 



with public buildings, 218-220; 
funeral oration of, 227 ; his death, 
230 

Pericles, the Age of, 212-224 

Per i oe'5i, the, in Laconia, 1 54 

Per seph'o ne, cult of, 144 n. i 

Per sep'o lis, structures at, 105 ; de- 
stroyed by Alexander, 260 

Persian Empire, political history of, 
95-100; extent, 100; population, 
loi ; nature of government, loi ; 
cramps the Greek world, 187-190; 
wars with Greece, 191-206; con- 
quered by Alexander the Great, 
257-265 

Persians, relation to the Medes, 95; 
literature and rehgion, 101-104 

Pha'do, 322 

Phalanx, Macedonian, Theban origin 
of, 252 n. I 

Pharaoh (fa'rS), title, 25 

Pha'ros, the, at Alexandria, 278, 280, 
281 

Phei'don, king of Argos, 161 n. i 

Phid'i as, his masterpieces, 293-295 

Phidippides (fl dip'i dez), Greek run- 
ner, 193 

Philae (fl'le), island, 23 n. i 

Philip II, king of Macedon, his youth, 
252 ; his accession to the throne, 
252 ; his conquests in Chalcidice 
and Thrace, 252 ; in the Second 
Sacred War, 253; his victor^' at 
Chaeronea, 253 ; his plan to invade 
Asia, 276; his death, 276; results 
of his reign, 276 

Philippi (fi lip'T), founded, 252 n. !• 

Philistines (fi lis'tinz), 33 n. i 

Phil o poe'men, 270 n. 4 

Phocians, in Second Sacred War, 

Ph6'9is, district of Greece, 1 1 5 

Phce'bus. See Apollo 

Phoenicia (fe nish'i a), the land, 87 ; 
products, 87 

Phoenicians, their commerce, 88 ; col- 
onies, 89 ; routes of trade, 90 n. i ; 
arts disseminated by, 90 

Phonograms defined, 13 

Phra'try, the, 140, 141 

Pindar, 305 

PI ras'us, the, fortified by Themisto- 
cles, 207 ; dismantled by the Pelo- 
ponnesians, 239 



Pi sis'tra tus, makes himself tyrant of 
Athens, 181 ; character of his rule, 
182 

Pittacus (pTt'akus), 317 n. i 

Platae'a, its destruction, 231; battle 
of, 204 

Plataeans, the, at Marathon, 194 

Plato, endows school at Athens, 271 ; 
life and works, 322 

Plu'tarch, 315 

Pnyx (niks) Hill, the, at Athens, 
178 n. 2 

Po lyb'i us, historian, 315 

Pol y cli'tus, sculptor, 295 

Po lyc'ra tes, tyrant of Samos, 174, 189 

Pol yg no'tus, painter, 299 

Po lyx'e na, daughter of Priam, 299 n. i 

Po sei'don, 144 

Pos i do'ni a, 168 

Pot i das'a, Corinthian colony, 226; 
revolt of, against Athens, 226 

Prax it'e les, 296 

Prehistoric Age, defined, i ; in what 
way knowledge of, secured, i; divi- 
sions of, 2 ; in Egypt, 25 

Printing, art of, among the Chinese, 
III 

Prod'i cus, 320 

Prometheus (pro me'thiis), the Titan, 
308 n. I 

Prop y lae'a, the, 219 

Pro tag'o ras, 319 n. 3 

Psammetichus (sa met'i kus) I, 33 

Ptolemy (tol'e mi), Claudius, astrono- 
mer, 327 

Ptolemy I (Soter), 278 

Ptolemy II (Philadelphus), 279 

Piin jab'. See Panjab 

Py'Ios, 231 

Pyramid builders, 27 

Pyramids, the, 27 ; as tombs, 41 

Py thag'o ras, 318 

Pyth'i a, the, 146 

Pythian games, 148 

Rii (ra), Egyptian deity, 37 

Races of mankind, 17-19; table of, 

22 
Rameses (ram'e sez) II, 32 ; mummy 

of, 40 
Rameses III, 33 n. i 
Re (ra). See Rji 
Re ho bo'am, 81 
Rhegium (re'gt lim) founded, 168 



352 



INDEX 



Rhodes, island, iiS; settled by Do- 
rians, 137 ; center of Hellenistic 
culture, 273 ; school of sculpture 
at, 273 

Rosetta Stone, the, 36 

Royal Road, Persian, 98 

Sacred War, First, 150; Second, 252 

Sa'is, 137 n. 2 

Sal a tnin'i a, Athenian state ship, 

213 n. 2 
Sal'a mis, battle of, 203 
Samaria captured by Sargon II, 65 
Sa'mos, island, 1 18 
Samson, Hebrew hero, 80 
Sappho (safo), 305 
Sar'a cus, last king of Nineveh, 68 
Sar'dis, capital of Lydia, 93 ; cap- 
tured by Cyrus, 96 ; sacked by the 

Greeks, 191 
Sar'gon I, 51 
Sargon II, reign, 65 
Sat iinia li a, 352 
Saul, king of the Hebrews, 80 
Scar a bae'us, Egyptian, 45 
Schliemann (shle'man). Dr., 128 
Scilly (sil'i) Islands, 89 n. i 
Sco'pas, 296 
Sculpture, Greek, 290-298 ; relation 

to Mycenaean art, 290 
Se leu'9i dae, kingdom of the, 276- 

278 
Se leu'cus Ni ca'tor, 276 
Sennacherib (se nak'e rib), reign, 66 
Sep'tu a gint, the, 279 
Ser a pe'um, the, 38 n. 3 
Se sos'tris. See Rameses II 
Seth {or Set), Egyptian god, 38 
Se'thos I, 40 
Se'ti I. See Sethos 
Seven Sages, the, 317 
Sheba (she'ba), queen of, 81 
She'ol, the Hebrew underworld, 86 
Shepherd Kings. See Hyksos 
Sicilian Expedition, the, 234-238 ; 

debate at Athens respecting, 234 ; 

departure of, from the Piraeus, 236; 

the end, 236-237 
Sicily, Greek colonies in, 169 ; golden 

era of the Sicilian Greek cities, 249, 

250 
Sidon, 88 
SI mon'i des of Ceos, lyric poet, 

205 n. 2,^305 



Siwa (se'wa), oasis of, 259 

Slavery, among the Greeks, 334-336 

Smer'dis, the false, 97, 98 

Soc'ra tes, in the Athens of Pericles, 
221; his trial and condemnation, 
242 ; his teachings, 321 

Sog di a'na, conquest of, by Alexan- 
der, 260 

Solomon, king, 80 

So'lon, his economic reforms, 180; 
his constitutional reforms, 180; 
special laws enacted by, i8i 

Sophists, the, 222, 319, 320 

Soph'o cles, tragic poet, 309 

Sparta, location of, 154; the name, 
154; classes in, 154; early history 
of, 156; public tables, 158; educa- 
tion of Spartan youth, 1 59 ; conquers 
Messenia, 160; becomes supreme 
in central and northern Pelopon- 
nesus, 161 

Spartan constitution, the, 156 

Spartan supremacy (404-371 B.C.), 
240-245 

Spartans, number of, 154; detach- 
ment of, shut up in Sphacteria, 
231 ; their surrender, 231 ; import 
of this event, 231 

Spar ti a'tae, the. See Spartans 

Sphacteria (sfak te'ri a), island, 231 

Sphinx, the, 27, 28 

Spor'a des, the, 118 

Sta'di um (//. stadia), 289 

Stoics, the, 272, 324 

Stonehenge (ston'henj), 15 

Stra'bo, the geographer, 327 

Sii-mer, 50 

Sii me'ri ans, the, 50 

Su'ni um, cape, 219 

Susa (soo'sa), capital of Elam, 52 ; 
capital of Persian Empire, 98 ; 
taken by Alexander, 259 

Sut tee', 109 n. i 

Syb'a ris, founded, 168 

Syl'la ba ry, defined, 14 

Symposium, the, features of, 332 

Syracuse, founded, 169; operations 
of the Athenians at, in the Pelo- 
ponnesian War, 236, 237 ; under 
the Dionysian tyrants, 248, 249 ; its 
golden era, 249, 250 

Tal'mud, 84 
Ta'o ism, 1 13 



INDEX 



353 



Taras. Str Tarentiim 

Ta ren'tum, Greek colony, i68 

Tar'ta rus, in Greek myth. 143 

Tas ma'ni ans, 4 n. i. 

'I'a yg'e tus Mountains, 118 

Tell el-Amarna (el-a mar'na), cunei- 
form letters discovered at, 30 n. 2 

Tel loh' {cr Tello), 56 

Tem'pe, Vale of, 114 

Ten Thousand, expedition of the, 
240-242 

Tha'les, 31S 

Theaters, Grecian, description of, 
288; entertainments of, 331 

Thebes (thebz), in Egypt, ruins at. 

30 

Thebes, in Greece, seized by the 
Spartans, 244 ; liberated by Pe- 
lopidas, 244; hegemony of, 245- 
247 ; destroyed by Alexander the 
Great, 257 

The mis'to cles. his character, 196; 
his naval policy, 196; his agency 
in convening the council at Cor- 
inth, 199; interprets the oracle of 
the "wooden walls," 203; his 
policy in regard to the Pirasus 
and the Athenian navy, 207 ; his 
ostracism and death, 207 n. i 

The oc'ri tus, poet, 314 

Ther mop'y lae, battle of, 201 

Thermopylae, Pass of, the name. 
201 

The se'um, the, 218 

Theseus (the'sus), slays the minotaur. 
123; king of Athens, 177 

Thes'pis, tragic poet, 306 

Thes'sa ly, description of, 1 14 

The'tes, the, 180 

Thirty Tyrants, the, at Athens, 240 

Thirty Years' Truce, the. 211 

Thoth'mes III, 30 

Thras y bu'lus, tyrant of Miletus, 

173 
Thu 9yd'i des, the historian, tale of 

his youth, 221 ; character of the 

speeches in his history, 227 n. i ; 

banished from Athens, 311; his 

history, 312 
Thiit mo'se {or toot mo'se). SW 

Thothmes 
Tig'lath-Pi le'ser IV, 65 
Tigris, valley of the, 48 



Ti mo'le on, the Liberator, frees Syra- 
cuse from the tyrant Dionysius 
the Younger, 249; his death, 250 

Ti'mon, the misanthrope. 233 

Tl'ryns, seat of prehistoric race, n6 

Transmigration, Hindu doctrine of, 
108 

Tra pe'zus. 242 

Treb'i zond. See Trapezus 

Tribes, among the Greeks, 141 

Trojan War, the legend of, 125 

Troy, 125. See Hissarlik 

Ty'phon. See Seth 

Tyrants, the Greek, 171-175; char- 
acter and origin of rule, 171 ; Greek 
feeling towards, 172 ; benefits con- 
ferred by, 174; Pisistratida?, at 
Athens, 181-183 

Tyre (tir), besieged by Nebuchadnez- 
zar, 72 ; history of. 75 ; siege of, by 
Alexander, 258 

Tyr tae'us. 160 

Ur (er), city of, 79 

Vaphio (va'fi o) cups, 132 n. i 
Ve'das (or va'das), sacred books of 
the Hindus, 107 

Woman, social position of. in (ireece. 

330 
Writing, invention of. 13; Egyptian 
system, 35; Chinese, iii 

Xanthippe (zan thip'e), 321 n. 2 
Xenophon (zen'o fon), with the Ten 
Thousand Greeks, 241 ; his works, 

Xerxes (zerk'sez) I, 99; prepares to 
invade Greece. 198; crosses the 
Hellespont, 200 ; reviews army at 
Doriscus, 200 ; after the battle of 
.Salamis, 203 

^'ahweh (ya'we), 82 

Zend A ves'ta, 10 1 

Ze'no, the Stoic, 272, 324 

Zeus (zus), 144; oracles of, 146 n. i 

Zeus Ammon, oracle of, 259 

Zeuxis (zuk'sis), Greek painter. 300 

Z5 ro as'ter, 102 

Zoroastrianism. 102 



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